


Crater

by mitsuboo



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Unrequited Love, War, childhood flashbacks, theres a lot more characters but you get the point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-23 05:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9642851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitsuboo/pseuds/mitsuboo
Summary: She was the sun and he was a shadow caused by her light. And the sun could never love a shadow.[Small drabble series based off childhood for Leo and Corrin, and canon chapters in Conquest]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> \- no nsfw here, sorry guys : (  
> \- there are depictions of violence  
> \- I write in metaphors a lot bc it makes the story sound smarter so I apologize  
> \- I really love comments !!!!! and critiques, but please be kind and constructive. If there's something you think I need to work on, at least tell me what that thing is so I can work on it, then after you're done telling me you can start the insults, thnk u :3  
> \- This will probably go under a lot of work and editing and reconstruction so stick with me

Nothing in the world would ever make Corrin forget war.

Nothing in this big, cruel world would ever make Corrin miss war, nor would she ever crave it, nor would she ever become simply accustomed to it.

No matter how strong, no matter how large, no matter how terrifying, simply nothing would ever help her get used to being on the battlefield. From the second she felt the warmth of someone else's blood on her chest and hands, she knew she would never become one of those strong, composed seasoned veterans. Not like how Hans seemed to be with his careless axe swinging around like a clock's pendulum, a crooked and unnerving grin plastered on his face. Not like Gunter, who was composed and wary every second spent on his horse. Corrin was clumsy in the fitted armor, too wide eyed and jumpy to become accustomed to watching her back. Such was the curse of one never allowed to step one foot off castle grounds for 21 years, she supposed. She could only wonder if Gunter had been just as nervous as she was.

Across the battlefield, Xander seemed perfectly calm. This didn't surprise her, if anyone was to be the picture of a good soldier, it would be Xander. Ryoma came very close, though he only lacked the war horse that she was used to seeing Nohrian soldiers topped upon. There were many things she wasn't used to in Hoshido, many things she was learning. Ryoma sort of reminded her of the rising sun, dressed in reds and oranges, arms crossed over his chest and a sense of familiarity washing over anybody who spoke to him, just a reassurance that the world was still turning on through all the bad, the sun was rising once again. How fitting that Hoshido rarely had a cloud in the sky.

"Ready?" Takumi grinned at her expectantly, shining blue bow in hand as he watched his new sister stare out at the fields of grass before her. A second later, and no response from Corrin, his smile fell into something else, an expression of irritated concern. "Kamui? Hello, earth to Kamui- Or uh… Corrin."

She blinked and crashed back down to the surface, seeming to jolt along with her realization that she was in battle, she couldn't zone out like that. Perhaps it was him saying the name she was used to, instead of the name that felt entirely foreign on her tongue. Saying it outloud reminded her of those sticky, thick medicines she would always have to take when she caught a cold, the ones that left her feeling uneasy and fuzzy.

Sighing past the feeling, she looked out at expanse in front of her, "The ground is turning red."

The statement was so out of the blue, so sudden. Takumi only furrowed his brows and looked out at the field before him. It, in fact, was turning a deep brown, sort of red, in a way. He had never quite noticed that. How odd that he, who had been in battles before his older sister, had been only second in noticing the blood staining the green fields of Hoshido. "Sakura, keep your eyes ahead, don't dwell on what's below. You too, Kamui."

Sakura seemed the most aware of it all, which always surprised Corrin. Yet, she obeyed and nodded her sunset colored head, gripping her festal to her chest. Corrin glanced over her shoulder at Sakura, meeting her almond eyes for a minute, "The river's dried up."

Corrin turned away and looked over at the river to her left, about half a mile away across the spots of dark blood on the ground, a few bodies lying here and there in small groups, puddles of dark brown pooling around them and being soaked up greedily by the world. The thought made her gag, she didn't want to return to dust like them, she didn't even want them to be dust one day. She skimmed over the bodies and made a mental note to try and get out here to help bury them later, if she ever would return, or even survive this. But the river was dry, now just a stretch of red dirt and stones reaching across the landscape, complete with flopping fish and all.

"Who could do that?" She gasped.

"Dragonvein…" Takumi muttered, "I thought only royalty could do that. There must be some heavy hitters over there, we have to stay on guard."

Heavy hitters. He said the word as if he was trying to avoid saying 'royalty'. Yet, it was clear. There was Nohrian royalty in the midst of that army. Corrin suddenly felt a wave of sickness wash over her, and could only groan as she dipped her head into her hand and shut her eyes tightly. She really wanted a nap, she really wanted to just lay down on this nice, dry patch of grass and look at the blue sky and forget anything ever happened.

She wanted to forget it all. She wanted to forget Hans. She wanted to forget father's emotionless, baggy eyes staring down at her, even if he was standing on the same level as her. She wanted to forget Xander's rough hand on her shoulder and the reassuring smile he gave her before she left. She wanted to forget the promise between her and Leo, the desperate, almost broken look on his face as he tried to tell her something his senses realized before she ever would. He was so smart, so intuitive. She could only envy him as she recalled her mother's parted lips and the trickle of blood escaping through them.

Leo didn't know the details of what would happen, but he knew something would. If she wasn't going to see reality, he would have to see it for her.

She wished she could have him next to her right now, but the wish was impossible to fulfill. He wasn't even her brother, she wasn't even sure if he'd want to be her best friend any longer. The thought made her sick, "Let's just go. I wanna get this over with."

Takumi could only watch her, a hesitant expression on his face as he trudged after his elder sister, "Uh, yeah. Yeah let's go!"

The army across the dried up river was like an ocean, shimmering with spears and yells instead of water. Xander led the charge, seeming to jerk and dodge Ryoma's every swing. That was Corrin, at one time, the one dodging every swing and bouncing back to attempt another hit. Xander never truly went easy on her, but his fighting seemed so much more intense now against the Hoshidan prince, as if that was a different person in her elder brother's skin. Someone more savage, someone with gritted teeth barred like a rabid animal. The sight made her throat close up.

He wasn't her brother. But if Xander wasn't, then would it be Ryoma? Nobody felt like her family anymore.

"Corrin!" She heard Elise screech. It seemed as if it was years since she had seen her, and Corrin couldn't help but grin tiredly and open her arms to greet her little sister. Yet, this was cut off by Hinoka dashing in and landing her pegasi right in front of her, a giant white wall between the two. Past the creature, she could see Elise's horse rear back, and Camilla rear up her own wyvern as if she was about to pounce.

"It's Kamui," Hinoka hissed, "And she's our precious, long lost sister. Don't you dare try to take her from us again!"

  
Camilla seemed personally offended by this - of course she'd be. "Your sister? I'm afraid you're mistaken, little boy, that's our sister."

"I'm not a boy!" Hinoka gasped, "And you're just lying! You're trying to confuse her!"

  
Corrin didn't listen to any of the argument, she couldn't even hear it if she wanted to. They were like little kids fighting over a new toy, and she was the toy. She had no choice but to drown it out, keeping her eyes desperately locked on Elise, then flickering them over to Leo, who rode up quickly behind. "Elise, I told you to stay behind m-"

His sentence was cut off as he met Corrin's eyes, and she suddenly felt small again. She wasn't a grown woman, holding a sword and standing on the blood soaked ground. She was a young girl, vulnerable. Her chest wrenched and knocked the air out of her lungs once more, and she had no choice but to look away. Holding his eyes became much too difficult.

"She's our sister!" Xander's roar brought the dragon girl back to earth. This stopped the arguing of the younger siblings. The two eldest of each family were now huffing and panting across from each other, two animals about to rip out each other's throats.

"She is ours," Ryoma growled in return.

At this, all eyes turned towards her, and she had to take a step back from it all. The grass now seemed wet under her feet, squishing between her toes and making her sick. She shut her eyes and gripped her sword, "Stop it. I'm not worth warring over."

If only she knew.

 

"You have to choose!" Hinoka commanded, "And you're going to choose us! Your real family, not your kidnappers!"

 

"Kidnappers wouldn't raise her from the ground up," Xander seemed to hiss this, Corrin never had seen him so heated, "Kidnappers wouldn't love her like we do!"

  
Corrin looked back at Leo. Kidnappers wouldn't love her like they did. Leo wouldn't meet her eyes.

 

"Come with us, little princess."

  
"Kamui! Come with us!"

Corrin or Kamui. Hoshidan or Nohrian. She reached up, fingers softly tracing the sharp tips of her ears. She wasn't even human.

 

\-------------------

 

 

13 years ago, Leo met Corrin, and it was resentment at first sight.

Leo's new big sister reminded him of a creek he once found when off exploring. He wasn't sure if he could truly call it exploring, seeing as he was 8 years old and his horse decided to ignore every rule and gallop off into the forest when his own mother wasn't looking. She had been on her own horse, chestnut brown and beautiful, his mother's golden hair streaming down her shoulders like sunshine on earth. "Um, I think your son just got kidnapped by a horse." Another noble pointed out.

"Oh," She waved a pale, manicured hand, "He's fine. He's just exploring."

After about 10 minutes of wandering - crying and panicking, moreso than wandering - where he was, he found a creek. The one he would remember and compare a young Corrin to upon first meeting her, always the literary type even at 7 years old. Said creek was pretty, with unpolluted water bubbling over rocks, seeming to come from an opening between two bigger rocks, almost out of nowhere. Yet, after a few seconds of looking at it, boredom set in. It was just water and some rocks. Why should he care? That was enough 'exploring' for the day.

Just a few months later, this same thing happened with Corrin.

"Leo, isn't she cute?" Camilla asked this while pulling one of Corrin's cheeks, almost as if she expected a serious answer from the young prodigy. If she was, she would be disappointed.

"No."

This was said coldly, emotionlessly almost. And Camilla's immediate reaction was a soft glare. Her adoring expression seemed to melt away, as if someone poured water over a spill, watching it wash away into the water, eventually being wiped up by a towel and replaced with a sharp, disapproving glare.

It was enough to put the 7 year old on edge. He cleared his throat, not even needing to hear a reprimand from Camilla to know he had said something wrong. "She's okay. I apologize."

All the while this was happening, Corrin was the unlucky one caught between the two siblings. She didn't look too bothered, but she didn't look too happy. In fact, she didn't look too much of anything. She was sort of like those lifeless dolls that Elise's mother collected, all sitting up on the shelves in Elise's room, staring glassy eyed out into the world. This, also, brought Leo back to that creek, and he could make the connection. That creek, like Corrin, seemed to spring up out of nowhere, yet was devoid of life, pretty if you look at it hard enough, but still very clear, and very empty, and very lonely.

And very boring.

He was a child of stories. He was never the one to ask the maids - never his mother or father - to read stories to him. He would go out, find a good book, and read that story to himself. What could he find interesting in a new sister that didn't have any memories? She had no stories to tell, she wouldn't remember any if she did, thus he was not interested. Just like all the little things he found while 'exploring', there was nothing there to explain the story of that creek, the story of that tree, the story of the forest, and thus he did not care.

Corrin didn't quite seem to care whether or not he cared either. That was good enough for Leo. The other siblings seemed pleased when Corrin would sit beside him while he read, her back an arch as she hunched over a drawing she was diligently working on. Leo would sneak a glance at it - terrible. Not that he was an artist, but it was still terrible. And he was sure if he tried it would be better.

"That's so good!" Camilla would coo.

"A natural artist." Xander would chuckle.

A huff from Leo would go unnoticed, and another brick was stacked on the wall building in front of his heart.

One night, Camilla opened up Leo's door, sticking her head in and smiling with that oh so innocent look, the one that could unnerve grown men. Leo had never truly met a 10 year old who could do that, it sort of made him jealous. To be that influential with just a smile, he could only envy that and take notes on it behind her back. He'd learn her secrets one day.

Of course, Camilla was still growing into herself. She seemed to have been born with that sweet aura, yet using it as a veil to cover up the threats was something that came later, around the same time when Leo would notice bruises the shape of fingerprints on her arms, and her mother's always foul disposition. His older sister certainly was an entity of her own.

She sat on his bed, her legs just barely long enough to reach the floor. He couldn't help but huff at that, feeling jealous over her being able to reach. He wished he could, but he was always on the short side. Camilla seemed to notice the displeasure and merely giggled lightly at him, "You'll shoot up one day, Leo! You'll be like a beanstalk!"

He sort of liked that idea, being a beanstalk and all. Shoot up so high that his head was in the clouds and everybody looked up at him in wonder and awe, fear and envy. He wasn't quite sure if a 7 year old should be wanting that, but there was a lot he wasn't too sure of. "Maybe."

Camilla merely pouted, "So stoic."

He ignored that, "What did you need, sister?"

"What do you think of Corrin?"

He licked his finger and turned the page, just how he saw Father always do when he took a few minutes from his busy schedule to sit beside his youngest son in the library, reading some random book he stole off the shelves. He didn't think Leo would ever notice that glint of mischief in his eyes, or that the book he grabbed was for children and he had to pretend to read that, just to keep his son company for the few free moments he had, all right up until a servant would report something needing the King's attention. There was a lot the adults thought Leo missed. "You already asked me that."

"But I'm asking you again."

Finally, he sighed. Giving the entire truth wouldn't be too bad, Xander always did push the importance of honesty - another thing never missing Leo's sight was the lack of it slowly growing in his eldest brother, like some dark storm cloud slowly festering, growing worse and worse until it would eventually surround and consume him, and his siblings would be caught in the rain of it. He could only wonder if Xander pushed them to be honest with each other simply to make up for the lack of it in himself.

"Corrin's boring. She's like an unfinished story," Leo looked down at the book in his lap, "Or one that isn't even written. She's got nothing to her, no words, no history, just a blank slate."

Camilla went silent for a minute, blinking her dark eyes as she appraised her cold little brother. What a terrible, terrible young boy, she must be thinking, or at least he assumed she was. Such a heartless little man. The thought made his gut wrench, as if there was a knife twisting it's way through his body. But after exactly 16 seconds, Camilla made her reply, "That's not really what I thought you would say, little brother."

He blinked, "What?"

"I just expected you to be interested in such a mystery, that blank slate," A shrug of her delicate shoulders, and she stood up from his bed to take her leave, "She's like a book where you can choose how it goes, like writing your own. And then, if we ever do find out her true history, all our guesses about the backstory, the uh…" She cocked her head, "Foreshadowing? The foreshadowing, yes. All our guesses about that are either wrong, or right. The fun is making our mark, seeing how it turns out, and waiting for the mystery to be unveiled… I thought you'd like writing your own book."

With that, she walked out the door, and it shut behind her, as if erasing every trace of her ever being there in the first place. The only thing left behind was the wrinkles on his otherwise immaculate bedsheet, right where she sat. He felt breathless, the wind sucked out of him forcefully, and all he wanted to do was wonder how a 10 year old became so wise - but another twisty feeling in his gut told him that he didn't truly want to know, he was better off without that snippet of knowledge.

But what he did know was that yes, he did want to write his own book. Corrin even had the hair to match a white page, the emotionless eyes like an unpainted canvas. He wanted to know her story, her mystery, and everything else there was to learn while he was at it. Just for the sake of it.

Little did he know, Corrin would become his greatest work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo: 12 years old  
> Corrin: 13 years old  
> Xander: 17 years old  
> Camilla: 15 years old  
> Elise: 9 years old
> 
> Leo discovers his calling the hard way.

Corrin's best friend was her brother.

Leo's best friend was his sister.

And while the two weren't exactly inseparable, they came close to it. Leo seemed to like the attention, while Corrin enjoyed giving it. There seemed to be something so satisfying about earning the most loved child's every breath, as if Corrin's blood red eyes resting on him and only him validated his existence. It's not as if anybody else was willing to hear his thoughts on literature, politics, and the economy. Nobody would be as interested in what he had to say as Corrin was.

Of course, he was 12 years old and would often say something about the economy that would make Xander, overhearing the conversation, snort, earning a glare from the tow-headed little genius that made the older teenager duck his head and mutter an excuse before taking his retreat. Xander was learning to pick his battles with his younger brother, while Corrin gave Leo the courage to even have battles. Camilla, on the other hand, both chose and won every battle before anyone knew it had even begun, and Leo liked that Corrin would be willing to rebel with him against that.

As could be expected, the rebellion was very small, very subtle, and would make real rebels crack up at the two pint sized amateurs. Leo was a good child, just now bordering on the edge of independence, almost as if he couldn't decide whether to remain entirely obedient, or to simply make his own choices. Corrin, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Sweet, but hard headed, a little spoiled. When she wanted something, she would most certainly find a way to get it. Unexpectedly, this did not involve throwing fits or crying, but instead her weapons of choice included a sweet smile, and an offering of a flower for a touch of cutesy persuasion.

"I don't think that'll work when we get older," Leo mused as he watched Camilla hum and set the makeshift bouquet into a vase. It looked shabby, really, complete with the roots swimming in the now dirty water, but Camilla was entirely delighted. How odd girls are. "You won't be so cute, and Camilla will start expecting different gifts."

Corrin merely shrugged, "Chocolates then. And I will too be as cute," She turned ruby colored offended eyes onto him and reached out a hand to lightly hit his arm, not ever enough to cause damage, "I'll be adorable."

Leo didn't quite believe it - he wasn't entirely sure what his own definition of cute was, as well. All he knew was that Camilla called Corrin cute on a daily basis, even when she wasn't at the fortress to witness any cute acts that might attest to this statement. The word seemed fitting, nonetheless. He didn't dwell on the subject, and instead sighed as he turned his attention back on his older sister, "Let's go while she's distracted. I can't believe I'm doing this…"

There were a lot of things he could never believe. Unless it wasn't written down on text in a book in the family library, he would not believe it, but Corrin always seemed to dispel his new found critical streak, as he didn't quite believe Xander's warnings that she had grown taller than him since the two last saw each other. No, she couldn't have grown taller. Statistically, men are taller than women in most cases. But apparently, he was not a man, and Corrin was half a head taller. She liked this, yet he was not a fan.

Nonetheless, he stuck with his pessimistic view on most facts. Such as the time when Camilla tried to convince him that the castle maid could turn into a fish, and would turn into a fish nightly, midnight to be exact. After some research in anatomy books, he deduced that no, she could not turn into a fish, this was not possible, and he proceeded to give Camilla a written essay on how physically this would be impossible.

And just like the fish lady maid, Leo didn't believe this. Leo could not believe one bit that he was about to sneak off castle grounds with his older sister and break every rule placed here by father, Xander, Gunter, and probably the Gods. Perhaps it was an exaggeration, but for this one time in his life, he truly did not want to find out the truth. "We should go back."

Perhaps it was the sense of dread that seemed to ball up in his stomach as if he had swallowed a pile of rocks, or the looming dark forest in front of the two children. The sight of Camilla in the golden lit foyer of the castle, setting flowers in a vase and blissfully unaware of the two pre-teens sneaking away to escape from the prison that was this fortress, was long gone and left behind. Now, they stood in front of the forest bordering the Fortress, so thick it was nearly a wall, but places small enough to duck under and fit through were what caught his elder sister's attention, making her want to do this in the first place. Corrin was 13, she was a star in the night sky that had fallen down among the mortals to illuminate everybody and fill them with this sense of warmth when she smiled - Leo felt like he was the only one burning in her proximity, not simply warm, and after falling prey to one of her charming grins and persuasive arguments, he was going to have one hell of a burn wound.

Camilla had fallen prey as well, but she was actually willing to. The eldest sister had caught the two running around the edges of the castle wall, right outside of the proximity of the garden. Corrin looked tired, pale, while Leo was out of breath. But his elder sister was adamant in her insistence that no, she was not sick, and the two were just exploring. Of course, Leo was less persuasive, and could only watch as Corrin worked her own personal magic.

Leo supposed he should be grateful. He was about to be part of this star's history, but he wasn't entirely sure if it would be a good moment, or a bad one. With that thought, he gently ran his fingertips across the soft leather of the handle on his dagger, the one that Xander gave him to always keep at his side. Corrin noticed the movement, "Calm down, we'll be okay. We have our daggers."

Always the realist, he knew two pre-teens with daggers could not even fend off a wolf, nor even get past the magical barrier surrounding the fortress, but she seemed so confident. A year older, just a little more experienced, just a little more assured. A pang in his chest reminded him of what he wasn't.

"Lead the way. This should take us into the village." He spoke, though it was more to hear his own speaking, rather than add anything of value. Corrin knew where the nearest village was, she had been planning this, and Leo was merely a tag along.

The trees of the forest loomed in front of the two, dark brown with knarled branches that reminded Leo of a castle maid's crooked, old fingers. Once, he read a story where people turned into trees after growing too old, and for a split second he wondered if that could possibly be true, and what kind of tree he would make one day. Xander would be the magnificent, large tree up ahead, the one with the small body of water at the roots. Leo felt as if he'd be the crooked, bent over one beside it.

He scowled and pushed away that thought. Stupid. Stop it. Corrin already went on ahead towards the larger tree, but as always she was entirely devoid of consideration for her surroundings, her mind stuck on the one thing she wanted - freedom.

She was so adamant, even, that she had plowed a way through the brush and tangles of the forest. Leo followed after in a softer way, stepping over the thorns and the bushes that blocked the way. He supposed he could thank her for providing a path and making sure the brown blanket of leaves underfoot wasn't hiding any snakes. Just in case, he stepped right where she did. The forest seemed entirely quiet, even after several minutes of walking and rummaging. He finally caught up with his older sister and unknowingly grabbed her hand for balance. This earned him a glance, a twist of a smirk on her pink lips that immediately made him let go as if her fingers were poisoned, "Oh no, go ahead and hold my hand, it's a big sister's job to protect her scared little brother."

"I'm not scared." He was scared, "One day, I'll be protecting you."

"I look forward to it." Her voice was breathy in response, almost a whisper. He felt shaken, rumbled down to his core, and the sound of another person's voice only failed to reassure him. Hearing her whisper as if she was on her death bed would do nothing but rattle him. Corrin had always been such a sickly child, such was the excuse for her never being allowed to leave the castle grounds. All her medicines and healing elixers were at the castle, if she was out in the village and fell ill, she could die so quickly without an elixer nearby. Xander explained this frequently, and it was accepted.

Or it seemed accepted. Leo followed Corrin, though her pace had slowed, "Why do you want to go to the village anyway?"

All he could see of her was the back of her head, white and wavy, but the wave seemed to be cut short with her hair ending at her shoulders. While he couldn't see her face, he could imagine round, red eyes blinking in thought as silence ensued from her. A few seconds later, and there was a shrug, "I've just never been. You don't get it, Leo, you get to go places."

He supposed that was true, but it wasn't as if he was a world traveler. He had nothing to say in return, so just the sound of their feet crunching on the dead leaves would have to suffice to calm him down. At least it was one sound.

Until, of course, the other sound came.

It wasn't entirely like anything Leo had ever heard. It was a growl, long and deep, seeming to crawl it's way up every bone of his spine, trailing up to his neck and making him freeze in place. Now it was Corrin that took his hand, though her other was immediately going for her dagger. He seemed frozen in place, not even turning to look at the source, right up until Corrin hissed at him, "Grab your weapon."

He had never obeyed so quickly, and as he reached over to grip the handle and turn to the source of the growl, it seemed as if his mind had opened the flood gates. Thoughts of regret, planning for what would happen next, and a brief thought on how he'd like a lakeside funeral with little lanterns in the water flickered through his mind. Yes, that sounded good, maybe Elise wouldn't cry too much. Or maybe it would be a celebration because there wasn't another mouth to feed anymore and Leo's frequent ramblings during carriage rides on the history of agriculture wouldn't be missed. He thought it was interesting at least - he didn't quite think knowing about the very small civil war over the trade of potatoes back 128 years ago would help him fight the wolf in front of him right now, though, and upon seeing yellow fangs bared right at him and his sister, he knew it wouldn't.

Corrin still had her hand in his, which suddenly felt so small. She was shaking, while Leo was just simply tense. He wished he read less, trained more, or maybe was just a bit more talented like Xander. Maybe more ferocious like Camilla. Yet, he knew that this wasn't possible, and the wolf was tensed and barred and ready to pounce any second now, he didn't quite have the time to train anymore. The threat was right in front of him, and he never thought he'd be facing it.

The wolf must've instinctively noticed Corrin's shaking, as predatory mammals often would notice those types of things. She gasped, though it was shaky, and held up her dagger, "W-We have to fight it."

He knew this, he just didn't want to. This sense of anticipation built up in his stomach, making him want to barf, but there would be no time for that, the wolf was about to pounce, and they both knew it. He would thank every god there was that he pounced a second before the wild animal could.

Leo dove forward, clumsily sticking the dagger into the side of the feral creature. He seemed to let out a battle cry, one he couldn't control as he used every ounce of strength to force the dagger inbetween the animal's shoulder blade and neck. He didn't quite notice when it's head whipped around to him and ripped into his hand, all that was on his mind was keeping that creature off his sister, so much so that his hand was numb, with just a small prickle, and blanketed by a gooey warmth he would recognize later as his own blood.

The wolf wasn't happy about this, though Leo couldn't quite blame him. He wouldn't be too happy if a scrawny 12 year old boy stuck a blunt dagger in his neck, but he also wouldn't ever find himself in the woods trying to kill said scrawny 12 year old. The creature had cried out in pain and fallen for a minute, but was whipping its head around and regaining it's stance as Corrin rushed to Leo and covered her mouth with both hands, "Your hand! It's…"

He couldn't quite seem to muster up the energy to care at the moment, "We should run."

Ironic that he should suggest this while his own legs resembled gelatin, not wanting to move even an inch. There was a sort of balled up tensity in his chest, almost suffocating him and overtaking every logical thought would ever prove useful in a wild wolf attack. He supposed that was fear, something he had never felt. Perhaps it was caused by the gurgled noise coming from the wolf, something resembling a growl. Or perhaps it was his realization that the blood now darkened and matted in the fur around it's jaw was his own, the same blood now wetting the areas between his fingers. He could only briefly wonder if this was the kind of fear that kept Xander up at night when he would come home from battles.

None of it mattered - that funeral with the lights on the water sounded very nice - as a saving grace would burst in like the clouds parting for the sun. The creature growled and pulled itself back up as it began to make it's way over to the children. Corrin desperately pulled on Leo's arm to make him move, but to no avail. It was only then that the sound of hooves on the leaves and the thorns and bushes parting forcefully for an armored war horse would catch his ear and drag him back down the earth. "Corrin!" Xander screamed, brows furrowed, his expression being a mixture between desperation and anger, making him look far older than 17, "Corrin, Leo!"

Of course Corrin's name got called twice, while Leo's was last and only once. He couldn't believe he was dwelling on this fact in this moment of time, yet the moment would never change the fact that it became even more difficult to breath, and for the first time through all of this, he could feel the pinpricks of tears stinging at his eyes.

His elder sister didn't notice, as she was merely relieved. Leo, wanting to prove he could be of some use, now grabbed her arm and jerked her away at exactly the right moment so she would not see the rabid wolf now being impaled by Xander's shining sword. Leo barely caught the sight, and could only wish he hadn't. For the split second that he did see the animal hit the ground with a thump announcing it's death, something in his stomach swirled and threatened to rise up. Yet, this was not the time to vomit on a bush, in this moment he knew Corrin needed to see it even less, her heart was much too soft to handle seeing a dead animal, even if it had tried to kill her.

Xander took a loud sigh of relief and pulled himself off his horse with the jangle of the saddle being the tell tale that it was all over. No more yelling, no more rushing blood in his ears, no more deep throated growls and extremely loud seeming silence. Leo closed his eyes to listen to every noise, the crunch of leaves, the sickening squish of a sword being pulled from a body. "Don't look," the eldest commanded, and while it was filled with relief, the flatness was a sign of his anger at the entire situation, "Start walking back to the castle, I'll catch up in a minute."

Wordlessly, the two obeyed. They still held hands, but the walk was much slower, tired almost, and Leo could finally notice his shredded up hand, the one that Corrin wasn't holding. She seemed to notice at the exact same moment, "I'm so sorry. T-This…" She sucked in a breath and clenched her eyes shut, grey brows furrowed, "This is my fault."

God, she was about to cry, and Leo was the one that was hurt here. He still felt heavy, as if he was a walking boulder, or as if there was one placed right on his chest. He could barely breath with it there. All he could do was just look away from her, back to looking straight ahead towards the castle peaking through the trees. What was there to say? It was her fault, but he wasn't about to tell her that. And this inkling in his swirling gut told him that he would be scarred, and the true pain of having one's hand slashed open to the point of leaving a trail of blood would come later.

Of course, he was quite woozy and dizzy, most likely from blood loss. But this went unspoken about as they exited the woods with Xander following not long after. Camilla ran up to them with wide eyes and pouty lips parted as she dropped to her knees. Pale hands, manicured neatly, fingers long and elegant, grabbed Corrin's round cheeks and began to look at her head on, "Oh goodness, darling, you're so dirty. But," Her shoulders sagged with relief, "You're unhurt."

Leo would never forget Elise, 9 years old and shambling up after her elder sister, big doll eyes wide with fear as she clenched the healing stave that was taller than herself. Her eyes were only on Leo, and he met hers right back, reflecting her fear, "Leo's hurt," It was a murmur, but she cleared her throat and said it louder a second time, "Leo's hurt!"  
Xander quickly grabbed his arm, avoiding his hand and raising it up as he looked at it. Camilla turned her attention to him and cooed as she ran her fingers through his hair, something he usually would've enjoyed secretly, yet pushed away. But now, he merely held Elise's eyes as she raised her stave to try and heal him.

Next to him, Corrin rambled simply to fill the hushed silence, "He saved me! He stopped the wolf from killing me!"

Leo turned his attention off Elise and watched his hand as it began to tingle and sting from the healing magic. He always hated that feeling, but it was necessary. So focused on this was he that he didn't even notice Gunter and Jakob running up to check on the royal siblings. Gunter sighed and looked Corrin over, but spoke as he did, "As can be expected from Xander."

Xander let go of Leo's arm, leaving an imprint of red pressure upon the paleness of his skin as he did, "It was Leo, actually."

"Well," The middle aged man raised both eyebrows and appraised the healing gashes upon his hand, "Your first battle scar. Wear it with pride."

The youngest son of Nohr wasn't quite sure he could do that. He felt as if it was expected, and he wanted desperately to be unexpected. What was expected was Xander saving Corrin, and while he did, Leo was the reason why she was alive right now. This thought put a bitter taste in his mouth, and he snatched his hand away from Elise's stave and held it to his chest. "I'll clean it up myself." With that, he pushed through Camilla and Gunter, feeling every eye on him as he retreated from the scene back towards the grey, ivy covered bricks of the fortress.

If only he wasn't being watched. He would run. He would run and never come back, forever letting his feet move him forward, farther and farther away from the watchful eyes of everyone he called family. And nobody would chase him down.

\-----------------------

Early morning had been Leo's favorite time of day since he was old enough to wake himself up. His own mother had called him odd for wanting to get up so early. He would be bringing her toast and juice every morning around 10 a.m. as she lifted her sunshine blonde head from the pillow and pushed her hair from her face, only to look at him with a tired and critical expression, "Why're you up?"

Leo would shrug his small shoulders, set down the toast and juice tray, and look at her, "I've been up since 5 a.m. mother."

She would snort and plop her head back down onto the pillow, and Leo would leave her in favor of better company, usually books. She, eventually, left him in favor of death. Yet the library in early, early morning remained his favorite. And this was the place he retreated to on this very morning following yesterday's fiasco. It felt like only a few hours ago, instead of a whole evening and night passing by. Of course, he hadn't slept a wink, and was craving just a moment of shut eye.

This wouldn't happen. There was too much to do, and his hand throbbed a little too much to handle. He had wrapped it up shabbily, cleaned it up with water from his room and used a wrap Felicia had brought him, though he had to ignore her paling face as she saw the bucket full of water stained with inky red swirls beside his door in the hallway. It was gone once he had emerged later, and he could only silently apologize to whomever had to lug it away through the whole castle.

By the sunrise, he had lit a candle and snuck out as quietly as he could towards the library. The golden light of the candle and every unpleasant, dwelling thought on his mind were his only company as he crept down the hallway past his sibling's rooms. If any of them were awake, they should be used to him being up and about at this time of day, the only difference was that this time he had a goal.

Once inside the library, he went straight towards the magic tomes. He set the candle down on a cherry wood table, and picked out the easiest looking spell tome there was. His dagger was no where to be seen, as Xander hadn't had the option of giving it back to Leo just yet, but he wouldn't need one. He wouldn't ever need Xander to jump in out of nowhere like a saving grace and end his battles for him.

Corrin was a star that fell among mortals, Xander was the life giving sun behind parting clouds, Leo could be neither of those things. Yet, the least he could be was something they weren't. It wasn't anything named, nothing labeled, and nothing praised. There would be no way to describe what he would become - simply Leo. Simply himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First kisses are always awkward, especially with one's sister.

It had been about 3 months since the wolf attack. 2 months and 26 days to be exact, Leo could remember this simply because the day that Father had found out was the same day he saw hell risen up from the ground and take shape in the form of a new set of rules for the Northern Fortress, rules that he knew Corrin would just love. He felt bad for his older sister, really he did, but was more preoccupied with the fact that father was grounding him as well. The lack of dessert after dinner, though, was not nearly as scary as the muttered threats of whippings and floggings.

"He's changed," Xander remarked upon the subject. This was accompanied by a silence from Camilla, a cocked head of confusion from Elise, and a look of shame flitting over the eldest's features for half a second before he looked away, as if trying to ignore his own words, "Or changing, I suppose. He's just stressed out."

Camilla raised a dark eyebrow for a second, but then would smile emotionlessly, "He'll be better soon. He was just so afraid of losing our dear Corrin, it's scared him."

Xander would always just hum in reply and return to whatever he was doing, and Leo would watch as silence fell upon the siblings once more. A comfortable, safe, and slightly ignorant silence. But he supposed that it was blissful enough. The subject of father changing was never one dwelled upon for long, but Leo was a perceptive child, and he could tell there was a difference that shook both older siblings to the core. When Xander wouldn't answer, he was disagreeing, but not saying this outloud. Leo wasn't quite sure why he'd disagree with father being worried about Corrin - everyone was worried about Corrin.

The thought of that left a bitter taste on his tongue, making him scowl. He had been scowling a lot lately, what with the threat of having whip scars on his back not very appealing, and the budding of a very treacherous flower of jealousy growing up inside of him. Any mention of Corrin seemed to water that bud, making it bigger and bigger.

But it had been 2 months and 26 days since he began studying magic, and since he had seen his best friend, his companion that never quite felt like a sibling but was named a sister for the sake of fitting in. Elise was his sister, Corrin was Corrin. Corrin was also a bitter taste in his mouth that seemed to dissolve the second he stepped out of the carriage and saw her standing by the castle gates waiting for him.

How could he stay bitter? She looked so eager, almost like a happy dog seeing it's master for the first time in years. He snorted to himself at that thought and put one foot on the ground, stepping out of the carriage to make his way over to her. She didn't change much, with there not being much time to change anyway. She seemed so excited, small hands clasped in front of her and a bright grin to greet him with.

"Sister," He approached her casually, "You're still taller than me."

"Oh, I'm so glad you admitted it," Lord, she was like Camilla with the blanket of sweetness to cover up the poison, only Leo could appreciate it better on Corrin, "I heard you've been studying magic! How's it been?"

Well, he almost destroyed an entire building the other day. He wasn't sure if he should be proud of that, or ashamed of it. Both, perhaps. "It's going well. Have I ever told you you're terrible at small talk?"

She knew, of course she did. She was more perceptive than the round cheeks and doll eyes would have one think. And she knew her bouncing in place and general excitement was enough to portray that she had something more than his studies on her mind, "Yes. Every time we see each other you make it a point to say that. But this time it's very important, I promise."

It better be, as he was hoping for some time to sleep after his trip. In fact, he specifically planned to ignore her and take a nap, but every ounce of bitterness seemed to wash away upon seeing her smiling face, such a pure sight that would make even the hardest hearts go warm, even if for a minute. And Leo's heart was becoming a glacier.

He hadn't been sleeping lately, moreso than usual. Nights were spent reading, then afterwards just tossing and turning until he finally got up to read again. It wasn't that the books were terribly interesting, it was just merely something to do. He had nothing besides that, and studying magic. Perhaps it was why he was excelling so much at it, he spent all day and all night practicing it out of boredom, having literally all the time in the day.

He knew of the dark purple half moons under his eyes, but they were brushed off by the others. Dark circles ran strongly in this family, even appearing on Xander on nights he couldn't sleep. The nights when Xander would find Leo and the two brothers would sit on the railing of the castle balcony and just feel the midnight breeze in their hair, being comfortably silent, those were Leo's favorite nights.

He did sleep during the day occasionally, but just quick naps. And for once, he felt like he could use one. But he followed an excited Corrin into the castle anyway. Yet, this did not stop him complaining, "Where're we going?" He yawned, feeling heavy, "Make it quick, please."

"Stop whining," She giggled. The castle was so empty, it never did seem like she belonged. The Northern Fortress was so devoid of life that even walking through the halls felt like trespassing. He wondered what Corrin was like when everybody was gone, was she as excitable and bright? Or did she diminish like a wilted flower? The thought of her losing that smile made him sad, if only for a moment.

He did have to give credit where it was due - Jakob did an exceptional job on keeping the halls clean and from looking entirely abandoned. It was just the grey stone and brick style of everything that seemed so old, so entirely dead. Castle Krakenburg was all black marble and obsidian, rich purples on the walls and deep red lights. The Northern Fortress was a hushed whisper compared to the Castle.

"I do not whine," His response brought him back to attention to watch exactly where she was leading him to. It was down a hall, through the large foyer and towards the library, "Really, sister, what's so important?"

She was down into that hushed whisper she did when she was excited, almost as if telling a secret that was so important it had to be kept between two people - sometimes it was - and it never failed to make Leo tune in and immediately want to give her his full attention. "I found a book." she was hunched over slightly so the two could be eye to eye, red meeting russet brown.

He whispered right back, though it was mocking, "A book? In a library? How fascinating."

"Oh, shush," She stood up straight again and led him inside, right to the shelves filled with tome upon tome. This wasn't as big as the library back in Krakenburg, but it seemed to fit Corrin well enough, "It's a very important book. It's about…" She bit her pink lip and looked at him, shaking one shoulder jokingly, "Kissing."

That was the big reveal? That was the reason he wasn't in a bed sleeping right now? A book about kissing? "As much as I encourage you to read as much as possible, sister, I'm not very interested in a book about kissing."

She stuck out her tongue at him, but then turned away and grabbed the book off it's place on the shelf, "Listen, it's just because we almost died those weeks ago."

"Weeks?" He furrowed his brows, "It's been months, Corrin."

Red eyes blinked, cupid bow lips pouted, and grey brows furrowed. She darted her eyes away, straight at the window that had been covered with a heavy blue curtain to drown out the sunlight, anywhere but at him, "Oh, yes. Months. Of course, just a slip of the tongue," He didn't even have time to dwell on the oddity of her reaction, the obvious lie in her words, she was already revved up again with the bouncy, wispy energy that possessed every inch of her, "Anyway, so we almost died a few months ago!"

"I'm aware."

"And that could happen again!" She didn't seem shaken by this fact, "It could happen anytime! And I… I found this book on kissing, and how to some people they regret never kissing anybody when they're close to death-"

"They're dying and all they can think about is their lack of having kissed anybody?"

"Apparently. But, ya know, if I died, I would've died without kissing anyone."

Leo sighed and raised an eyebrow at that, "I doubt it would've been the first thing on your mind."

"Well, now it's the first thing on my mind!" She defended with a childish huff. The pouty expression on her lips was something straight from Elise when she was about 5 years old, "I asked Jakob, but he got very flustered and said he could never allow himself to do that to me. Felicia and Flora also had their misgivings."

Leo could only blink as he listened to this story, not really hearing her words when she spoke on how Felicia was flustered, and Flora had merely stared at her. It was explained after that it wasn't appropriate, but Leo supposed that was just simply how Corrin was. She wasn't always the refined, elegant princess she should've been, but she was always like the first budding flower after a winter's worth of frost - she didn't care about your rules or agenda, she simply was there to make things colorful.

He cleared his throat, interrupting her with a very rare moment of impulse, "I'll kiss you."  
It went entirely quiet.

His mind began to race, yet he could only seem to focus on just two things. One would be the burning in his cheeks that threatened to succomb him, and the second being the fact that he actually just said that. Of all things to say. He was so craving of some difference to set him aside from Xander, he's pretty sure kissing one's sister isn't the difference he should want.

Corrin stared at him, which Leo discovered was entirely the worst thing one could do in this situation. The tensity in the air was thick enough to cut through, and it only weighed down upon Leo's shoulders more and more as the seconds passed. Finally, he had to break it. He couldn't take it any longer. He simply cleared his throat and looked away, "I apologize, it was an impulsive thought, mainly just to get you to stop talking-"

Her lips were on his before he could even finish. He tensed up even more, which he never would've guessed was possible. His eyes widened as he just registered winter white hair brushing against his cheek, and the smell of lavender invading his senses. There wasn't even enough time to register the feeling of her lips against his, not even a second more to remember if they were soft or not. She pulled back and put a hand over her mouth, warm cheeks looking pink as she looked at him warily, "We can't tell anybody about that."

It took a few seconds to register it, but he responded stiffly, nodding, "Yes. That's… that's our secret."

"It's just because there was nobody else around!"  
"And so we would not die without our first kiss, yes."

"So… let's never talk about it again."

"Agreed."

Leo didn't know whether to feel grown up, or to feel very awkward. That night at dinner, he supposed it was both. He was feeling very grown up, but also couldn't look Corrin in the eyes. He'd seen adults do that before, but mainly after a little too much wine and it was usually the day after, not between two siblings in the most awkward years of their lives. He didn't even get to take his nap.

It was that night that he was up once more, tossing and turning until he finally just sighed and looked up at the ceiling with heavy eyes. They wanted to be closed, so he would close them, only to be bothered until he had to open them once more. After an hour of this, his door creaked open.

And as did his eyes. He sat up lightly, looking towards the opening door, "Who's there?"

"Me." Corrin squeaked her explanation. Being caught now, she quickly jerked into the room and shut the door behind her. She was even more odd looking in the darkness, with the moonlight casting a pool of silver light into the room. She wore a white night dress, one that stopped below her knees, showing off her legs and shoeless feet. She wasn't as pale as Leo was, having a warmer skintone, but still looked rather porcelain in the moonlight as she looked at him. The white hair was positively ghostly, and he could only wonder for a moment just how lovely it would look if she would let it grow past her shoulders.

He had to force that thought aside, find a distraction, "What do you need?"

"I can't sleep."

Well, join the club. But he knew she never had much trouble sleeping, so a night without it would effect her greatly, while it didn't do much to Leo. Yet, he had a headache, one that pulsed on all sides of his head and behind his eyes. He remembered the days of his younger years, when he and Corrin napped on the ground next to each other, just two kids not bothering to think about hormones or the effect one's touch might have on another. He found it ironic that she couldn't sleep on the very night the two had their first kiss - and with each other.

The thought made him sick. With guilt, perhaps regret, perhaps revulsion. He couldn't quite tell what that cocktail in his stomach was, exactly, but it wasn't pleasant. Yet, he pushed past it and scooted over, "You can stay here until you're tired, then go back to your own bed."

She didn't answer, nor did she acknowledge his command. She merely ran across the room, feet padding on the floor as she made her way over quickly and crawled into the bed. She pulled the covers up around her, and Leo lay beside her stiffly.

"Goodnight." She whispered, earning a hum in acknowledgment from him. He couldn't quite think at the moment, which was entirely disarming for him. But he did know his eyes were heavy, and the headache pounded behind them, and Corrin was a literal heater beside him in this small bed.

Usually, he only slept about 4 to 5 hours, but on this night, with Corrin sighing in her sleep and moving ever closer until she finally was gripping his arm and burying her face against it, 12 hours of sleep passed dreamlessly, without him even waking up once.

Felicia thought he was dead and panicked, but Corrin just sat beside him in bed once the sun had come up, petting back blonde hair and smiling down at her younger brother affectionately, "Oh, calm down Felicia," She reassured, "He needs this."

"Wonder what's wrong with him…" She shuffled in place nervously, but only earned a soft laugh in return from the elf eared girl.

"He just needs someone beside him sometimes," She shrugged casually and continued to twirl a soft lock of his hair, looking down at his sleeping form beside her, "He acts like he doesn't, but he really does. I just… I want to be the one to be beside him. N-Not in any other way than uh… sibling wise." She went pink, cheeks burning, though it was simply the truth despite the kiss earlier, nothing to be embarrassed over, "But just… always there for him. I wanna be like that for all my siblings, but I feel like Leo needs it the most."

It was only after that, that Leo had his first dream in months. The first one he could remember, technically. And it was of red eyes and snow white hair.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The awkwardness continues even years later, but this is just part of growing up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I know it starts out with saying Leo is 14, but he's 16 in this chapter  
> \- this was embarrassing to write, I think I blushed  
> \- I'm kind of iffy on the second part, it feels like I change point of views too often? But there it is  
> \- Enjoy <3

Leo was 14 when he became a victim to the devil known as 'puberty'.

He had finally shot up like a beanstalk, just like Camilla had predicted. She was right, she was always right. He wasn't quite as tall as Xander, but Corrin was finally shorter than him. It had been a late puberty, something that was lasting from ages 14 - 16. It started with his voice, dropping unexpectedly to something more flat and casual, deeper. It was startling in those moments when it would occur spontaneously, and he would always look around as if there was someone else in the room finishing his thought for him. No, it was just Leo, and Camilla adored his embarrassment over it.

He, on the other hand, was not enjoying puberty. It wasn't an overnight change, he didn't shoot up immediately, it took him two years until he finally began to feel comfortable with himself again, now at the age of 16. And that feeling of comfort was soon dashed away by some unknown, unfortunate force called gravity, and Corrin, she was taking half the blame in his mind.

"Leo, come on," She bounced on her heels, her long fingers knitted together in front of her pleadingly, "Please. I won't make fun of you if you lose."

"That's a lie, and you know it." He quipped back, his answer immediate and sharp just like the training sword she had strapped at her side. Xander was nowhere to be found, no saving grace would come, and when Corrin wanted something, she usually would get it.

In this moment, Corrin wanted a sparring partner, and Leo had been more than happy to oblige with his tome in hand, but it turned out she wanted a sword sparring partner. Leo could only eye the training swords hanging on a rack across the training area distastefully. He hadn't touched a sword in ages, almost as if every blade in the world was poisoned. In a way, they sort of were, but it was a poison that would only effect him personally, something to bring up memories that made his chest jerk and ache.

"I would never make fun of my cute little brother." Her answer was cool, accompanied with innocently blinking red eyes. The puppy eyes. Leo felt a little air knock out of his lungs at the mention of 'cute', and he merely scowled and hoped that he had enough control to not feel warmth in his cheeks at such a stupid word.

"You make fun of me daily," Was his retort, but despite the sharp edge in his voice, he was beginning to make his way over to the sword rack. What could it hurt? It was getting Corrin off his back - and no matter the resentment, he wanted her attention just as desperately as the others. Maybe even moreso.

The blade felt so foreign in his hands, too heavy and awkward. 'An extension of your arm' his ass, this was just a pointy stick that caused pain. He preferred to cause pain with the tingle of power in his fingertips and a rush he could feel in every vein, not some clunky tool.

Corrin seemed to ignore the dig at her, and instead gave him her best smile. The smile that looked sunshine, the one that made his throat close up. He hated that. "Do you remember how to use it?"

Vaguely, enough to defend himself in a fight if he was forced to, and Corrin's puppy eyes were forcing him to. But he wouldn't admit that. "I'll attempt to."

His sister was pleased by this answer as shown by how she raised her blade at him, just like it was nothing. He wasn't weak, but his arm protested lightly as he lifted his sword in return, and he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, as if he was 13 again and tripping over his words and his too gangly legs. Corrin never seemed to have those problems, she only got prettier, more shapely, absolutely lovely. He didn't want to notice it, but it happened nonetheless.

Leo had no time to dwell on it before she was lunging at him with the sword, and he could only react enough to block and push all his strength forward against her blade. He leaned into the defense, huffing as he drew his muscles forward and pushed her blade away from him. But, Corrin was right back into action, now going for his side. He scrambled back and clashed his blade against hers in an attempt to knock it from her hands. Unfortunately, it didn't budge. And Leo could only thank the gods for the armor father had made and fitted for him, and that he had to wear it when traveling and on business - including visiting Corrin.

His arm was sore, but competition fueled him on. Corrin had drawn back and was now hoisting up her sword as she took a few steps in a cat-like manner, as if watching and waiting for him to strike. He wouldn't, he wasn't used to having to move much in battle, and he felt nearly naked without his horse under him. But he watched as her demeanor changed, her shoulders tensed up and she held u the sword with both hands, pointed straight at him as she took a charging run right towards him-

And proceeded to slip, twist her ankle, drop her sword just in time to miss stabbing her dear little brother.

It was almost as if time had slowed. Leo had always been a perceptive, fast thinker, and that came in handy as he dropped his sword as well and caught her in his arms. His hands found solace on her back, but the sudden force of Corrin crashing into him only pushed him backwards. He scowled, cursing under his breath as his own balance was lost, and he came crashing down right on his back, his head hitting and bouncing back on the hard, stone ground.

Stars burst in his sight. He could only clench his eyes shut as the dust fell and silence ensued. The back of his head throbbed annoyingly, with Corrin's head was right on his chest. He could feel her back moving up and down beneath his hands, yet he ignored it and merely groaned. "Are you okay?" His voice was rough and gravelly with pain.

She took a deep breath, and he could feel her back rise once more under his fingers and palms, yet there was no reply from her. It was obvious she had heard him judging from the heavy sigh. Yet, Leo knew this wasn't a normal thing from Corrin. Silence and sighs were not something he was accustomed to hearing from his older sister. He lifted his head and looked at the waves of white hair spilling across his black and purple armor - luckily, not his heavy armor - and furrowed his brows, "Corrin?"

She squeaked, and relief filled his chest. She was unhurt, but obviously something was up. "I'm just… I'm embarrassed."

"This is why you must wear shoes."

"Shut up!" Her voice was higher than normal, obviously flustered, and muffled due to her face being buried in his chest, "I just… um… I…"

"Um isn't a word."

"Shush! …I felt your private areas by accident and I'm so, so sorry."

One second passed.

Two seconds passed.

Three seconds now.

They were the longest seconds in his life. It felt like a giant had stepped on his chest, slowly crushing all of the air out of him and leaving him this deflated mess of a man- No, a boy. He was just a boy. He was just a boy who's sister just grabbed him in a very private place. He supposed that would make him a man, but he felt a little too vulnerable and flustered to ever be anything but a boy.

He could feel his cheeks slowly heat up, the tips of his ears, his forehead and chin. His headache was ignored in favor of him trying to recall when she had felt him that way, only drawing forth the memory of a small nudge down there that he barely even noticed. But Corrin, on the other hand, seemed to notice with every cell in her body.

"I'm sorry," She squeaked, her head still buried in his chest as if she just wanted to crawl somewhere and hide. He wordlessly looked down at her and brushed back the hair around her ears, showing a bright red point. She was flustered too, at least, and he wasn't in this alone.

"It'll just be…" He didn't quite know where to start, but it had to be somewhere, somewhere safe where they could hopefully look at each other again, "…Another one of our little secrets."

That was good, a very good solution to it all. She was relieved after that and eventually lifted her head from his chest, but the two remained a distance for a day after that, not even meeting each other's eyes.

It seemed they had a lot of little secrets with each other, and the collection was ever growing.

 

\---------------------------------------------

Puberty had not only given Leo the height and the newer voice, the cut out cheekbones and the loss of baby fat around his eyes, but a new and improved sight. Specifically, he could see the world differently, and he could see females differently especially well. Not that Leo was entirely interested in romance or women, he would never be like his father with his concubines and hoards of children. Even the thought of anything resembling the concubine wars sent a shiver down his spine, enough to make him send any noble rumored to have more than one lover a glare.

But, he did notice women. It was nothing perverted, nothing twisted or disgusting. Leo just merely noticed beauty, and he noticed it most of all in his dear older sister. Again, this was nothing perverted, but merely a simple statement of how she looked, nothing more and nothing less.

Anybody could look at Corrin and realize something was not quite right there. The rest of the siblings were pale, ski slip noses with pointed ends, sharp and high cheekbones with attractive, wolfish eyes. These were the traits running in Garon's family for generations, and had become the standard of beauty for most Nohrians. Corrin didn't quite have these things, in fact she didn't even really look Nohrian. She did have something resembling the Hoshidan beauty standards in her face, but there was something else there, something foreign and unexplainable.

And then there were the ears.

"They're like elf ears. They're so sharp you could use them as a knife. Want me to cut your steak with them?"

Leo merely stared at his sister, furrowing his brows as he watched her watch her own reflection. The Corrin he saw in the mirror looked concerned, pouty almost. He couldn't see himself, as he stood off to the side of her with his hands clenched together behind his back, almost as if avoiding having to face himself, "I don't believe we're having steak tonight, sister."

Her lower lip jutted out slightly, red eyes lowering in annoyance as she continued to study herself in the mirror. She sat at her large vanity now, where Leo had found her upon returning a book he borrowed. The book lay untouched on her bed, but the sight of her fretting in front of her own reflection was enough to get the 16 year old to stop and offer his assistance with any problem she might have. He didn't quite foresee his assistance involving her self image, reassurance was not his strong suit. "You know what I mean, though. They're just so…." She fingered the tip of her ear lightly, "Pointy."

They were quite pointy. They were inhuman, really, but not something he had never seen. Every once in a while, someone in a village somewhere would be born with pointy ears. In fact, many people were born with something unique on their body. While it was often regarded as something odd, something to stare at and be disgusted by, Leo found it fascinating. Corrin was like an elf, her features seeming to be something drawn up from a fantasy novel. He didn't quite know if it was just personal appreciation from his love for his sister, or simply because she was beautiful.

Corrin was not regarded as a common beauty. In fact, if she had been a commoner in a village, she wouldn't quite be every man's first pick. The Nohrian standard of beauty would be more elegant features, pale as snow, refined and sculpted. Corrin had none of these things. Her cheeks were soft, her cheekbones low and not quite jutting out to create a shape other than 'round'. Her nose was not sculpted, instead small and lengthening down to an upturned button that rested right above the cupids bow shape of her mouth. Her eyes, too. They weren't entirely Hoshidan with the lids covered, they were more cat-like - round on the bottom like a doll's, with long dark lashes, but tapering off to a point in the top, giving her the illusion of an animal. Almost a dragon, if Leo would think hard enough on the sketches he saw in books as a child. A dragon had those intelligent, sharp eyes. Corrin matched that, though the expression in hers was a soft kindess, unlike the draconic sketches he would see.

No, his sister was not the classic Nohrian beauty, but she was lovely nonetheless, and he found himself staring at her reflection in the mirror, wishing she could see that just as much. The ears, too, those were his favorite part of it all. The uniqueness in her face was only enhanced by the odd traits she held.

"Stay here," He commanded as he turned on his heel, walking out of the room with both hands behind his back, "I have something for you."

She watched him go curiously. It had been only a few days since their head on collision in the training area, but Corrin insisted upon acting perfectly normal, despite her light blushes that invaded her face when she thought of what happened. Leo seemed unphased by it all, with a control that she wished she held.

After a few minutes, Leo returned with a black headband in his hands. He sent her a soft smile as he walked up to her. He finally came in view of the vanity mirror, and the reflection beside the the brother and sister showed him leaning down to snugly fit the headband onto her head, brushing back the white hair around her ears to reveal them. Once he pulled away, she pulled back to examine herself, "Leo, this shows my ears, it doesn't hide a thing."

He smiled, a soft and subtle expression where only one side of his mouth would raise, something only his family would notice on him. "That's the point. I can only wish for something unique, something to set me apart."  
She looked at him with furrowed brows, "Leo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

He merely shrugged, "No harm done, sister, there's nothing to be sorry for. Everybody loves you," a twinge in his stomach, jealousy rearing it's ugly head, "So accept that blessing, pointy ears and all."

Corrin was wide eyed, looking at him curiously. She was so unaware, so oblivious. Xander or Camilla would've noticed the hint of poison in his words, like a drop of ink in a pool of water, slowly spreading across the clear liquid to blacken it all. It had started as a child, jealousy corrupting every feeling he could possibly have, and he could only wonder what in the world would ever make him happy with this monster inside him, this ink blackening to waters of his heart. He hated it, he hated Corrin.

But as he watched her look back at herself in the mirror, red eyes wide as she fingered and adjusted the headband that he had given her, he felt warm. That was something of his that she wore, a little piece of him to remind everybody that he was part of this family too, part of the thing that held everybody together. "Thank you…" She whispered.

He didn't answer. He only looked back at his expression in the mirror, surprised to find himself smiling


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo: 20 years old  
> Corrin: 21 years old  
> Xander: 25 years old  
> Camilla: 23 years old  
> Elise: 16 years old
> 
> Corrin is out of the castle for the first time in her life, setting out on her first mission, and Leo senses that something isn't adding up right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- This chapter isn't very long but this will not be a trend! I like really long chapters  
> \- now the real story kinda starts!

There was nothing quite like Castle Krakenburg.

And Corrin was kicked out after about 2 days, not even enough time to explore.

"Only you would achieve something so great, sister." Leo sighed, hands behind his back and smile small and mocking as he watched her. On his right was Elise, on his left Xander. Corrin was in the middle of the small little circle with Camilla latched onto her protectively. He felt like he was part of a wall, a guard to keep Corrin safe from the world, him and his siblings making up every brick.

"Was that sarcasm?" She frowned in return to him, and he could hear Xander snort softly.

"He merely means father's forgiveness," The eldest began to explain fondly, "It's not seen very often. And plus, you just escaped from your prison the day before, you're already becoming a world traveler."

Corrin seemed to accept that answer humbly, "Well, I don’t know about world traveler, it's just to an abandoned fortress. But even that seems exciting."

Leo couldn't stop the swirl of worry in his gut. It was as if he was shaken up like a potion bottle, but she didn't seem too phased by anything. She seemed more excited than concerned, and he hoped that smile wouldn't fall. He could only wish that her missions would stay focused on abandoned forts, where the only thing she would lift her sword against were rats and mice living among the dust bunnies - and knowing Corrin, she'd keep every tiny rodent as a pet.

He envied her ability to say her mission was peaceful. His first one was his worst at the age of 15, and now at 20 all he could recall was a soldier's dead eyes looking up at him like a doll, and Odin dragging him away by his arms through the mud. There wasn't much detail to that memory, it was just another nightmare replaying when he slept now. Luckily, Corrin would only see dark castle halls instead of dead eyes accusing her of her sins. She'd probably even make a new friend along the way.

She was blessed, she was Corrin. He wondered if he was the only one that was jealous of her first mission experience. "It's odd that father would forgive so quickly." He spoke without thinking.

Elise huffed beside him childishly and raised a black gloved hand, "Don't scare her! Stop worrying so much, Corrin's gonna be just fine!" He didn't even have time to dodge the sudden clashing of her palm against the back of his head, and he lurched forward and lost his footing as he held his head. His hair fell into his eyes, now ruffled. All he could think about was how Elise could hit hard when she wanted to.

"What was that for?" His voice was raised lightly, "I didn't deserve that!"

The two youngest siblings continued to bicker back and forth, while Xander and Camilla were unphased, even going so far as to ignore the two like they were children. She merely sighed dramatically and flipped a wave of purple hair over her shoulders, "Oh dear, I'm so worried. It might be dangerous, it is on the border of Hoshido. I should go with you, little sister. I have no choice."

There wasn't even enough time for a beat of silence before footsteps were heard across the polished marble floor, slow but steady, filled with resolve as they neared. A voice followed them immediately after, "No, I have already set aside help for her."

It was like the family were puppets, suddenly pulled up to attention by strings attached to their backs. Xander straightened up, Camilla pulled back from Corrin, Elise's shoulders shook, yet Leo was proud to find that she remained tall - as tall as her 5 feet and 2 inches allowed her to be. His own eyes were trained diligently upon his Father's approaching form. Everybody observed as he strode up slowly with confidence, his fur lined robes brushing the polished black floor with every hard step. He was the puppet master here. Any outsider could see this.

A grizzled, scarred man followed him closely, but he seemed unimpressed with his surroundings. Usually, standing in the throne room in the presence of each royal family member would cause one to be humbled, but his posture betrayed none of his feelings. He looked bored, even. Xander shifted uncomfortably and frowned, looking stern.

Corrin was the only one uneffected, she smiled even, casual as could be. Leo hoped he didn't have to ever see her be the 5th puppet on a string. "Father! Thank you so much for this opportunity. I appreciate this more than you know."

Of course she would. The grizzled man beside Father didn't even blink as he was introduced, Corrin's words going unacknowledged, "This is Hans. He will be accompanying you."

Leo didn't recognize his face, but something told him that was a good thing he didn't. His throat closed up anxiously, and out of the corner of his eye he watched Xander lean down to whisper something in Corrin's ear. Garon didn't seem phased by the secret passed between them, only turning on his heel and taking his leave, with Hans keeping his eyes straight on Corrin. Leo's throat seemed to clench anxiously, and he just wanted Brynhildr in his hand, something to remind him that he wasn't entirely powerless.

\---------------------

 

"Corrin, please listen to me. Please, be careful."

Leo hated to beg. He would avoid it as much as he could, he was a prince afterall, and 20 years old. A full adult, someone not deemed to be begging his older sister to watch her back. Xander, even, had merely reminded her to be careful, and he was just as worried. Yet, Corrin didn't seem to be listening to anyone. How could someone who hadn't even seen the world past her stone towers act as if they knew how humanity worked?

"It'll be fine Leo," Her smile was pure radiance, reassuring, "Hans is reformed, Father wouldn't put me in harm's way."

He wasn't entirely sure about that. Nobody could quite be sure about Father anymore, but it was so ardently avoided as if even the thought was poison. Leo felt like he was trudging into unmarked territory, 'here be dragons' written on the map, right where he was heading, a place where he and his siblings never went. "I'm not sure about that…"

She even seemed surprised about this, red eyes widening at him, "What're you saying?"

He felt so put on the spot, and for once he didn't quite want it. He closed his eyes and sighed, "He's… changed. Xander won't say it outloud, Camilla brushes it off. You didn't know how he was before."

Silence fell between the two, and Leo felt the relief drain from his shoulders as he finally said that outloud. It was such a rare thing to hear any slander of father, it was as if he was a god and even the barest negative thought about him would cause lightning to strike from the heavens. Leo glanced up at the star sprinkled sky, expecting to die any second now.

Instead, he just heard a laugh. Corrin covered her mouth with a small hand, eyes closed and brows furrowing. She apparently thought this funny. "He forgave me, didn't he? You're overreacting, Leo. Are you that worried?"

He was. He knew it was unsuitable, something he should keep to himself. He could almost hear Elise lecturing him on how negative he was, how he was just trying to ruin Corrin's first mission with his unnecessary anxiety. Leo glanced behind him at the castle entrance, large and black with purple velvet hangings on either side. It seemed to blend in with the night sky, this huge, dark shape meant to impose upon anyone walking up to it, meant to surprise newcomers with how deep and dark it truly was. He supposed it was a lot like Father, surprising and imposing, yet something Leo could never tear himself away from loving. He just didn't want Corrin to find out the hard way, nor feel the guilt of loving him so much that she would never truly realize it.

He tore gaze away, now back to Corrin as she hoisted her bags up on her horse with a huff, a soft hand reaching out to pet the mane of the creature and sooth it gently. She wasn't listening, she was entirely too optimistic for her own good.

"Corrin, we're the closest in age," he began, "Two peas in a pod, as Xander used to say."

She hummed without turning to him, "Yes, what of it? You sound like you're saying goodbye forever."

He felt as if this was exactly that. He had to take a deep breath before going on, "If you refuse to listen to reality, then I must listen to it for you."

She finally turned to him, "And if you refuse to be optimistic and accept good things when they come, then I'll do that for you."

It felt like a promise between the two. If Leo was younger and more carefee, he'd wrap his pinkie around hers and whisper it, something only for him and her. Forever and forever, just like the scars on his hand that refused to fade from their wrinkled, brown state. His chest ached at the thought of forever, and he felt shaken. Perhaps it was talking of Father, perhaps acknowledging the truth of his many changes. Leo couldn't help but wish it wasn't so complicated, and father's smile still reached his eyes like it used to, and Corrin's freedom wasn't on the line. He didn't want this, he didn't want to feel his stomach threaten to burst with anxiety at the thought of father not being himself anymore. He didn't want to feel his heart twist and turn when he remembered he and Corrin were related. He didn't want things to be the way they were right now.

"It's a promise." His voice was a ghost of a whisper, puffing out in a cloud of vapor in front of him. The cold, night air was finally setting in, making puffs of breath reside between he and Corrin's bodies, but dissolving away. He could only hope Corrin wouldn't dissolve like them.

She was smiling softly, "That it is. I'll come home, and I'll be with my family. I can't see myself anywhere else but at your side, little brother."

His stomach turned bitter at the nickname, but he would accept it. The urge to reach forward and put his hands on her waist, to rest his forehead against hers and just breath her in for as long as he could was unbearable. He had no choice but to remind himself that it was just the anxiety, the sense of foreboding lingering in the air like the puffs of breath. He just didn't want to lose his sister, not after losing so much before.

It was soon after that that the rest came out to wish Corrin and her party goodbye. She seemed to soak up the attention with an infectious smile and a few waves of her hand, looking like a real princess on the back of her horse with the unruly tangle of white hair following her like a cape. After she was gone, Leo found himself the last one standing outside, almost as if waiting for her to come riding right back up to him.

Corrin didn't return, but insomnia did, as if it was a monster hiding under his bed, waiting for the moment to come out again. Leo could only stare up at his bedroom ceiling, and know something had gone wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin's first battle, and she goes missing. Leo knew something would happen to her, and the family goes on the search for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I don't really like how this chapter is written, I feel really off today and like it doesn't flow very well, so please bear with me  
> \- this also feels like a filler chapter so I apologize

"I don't like this, not one bit."

That was the 3rd time those words were muttered under Xander's breath. It was like a chant, always earning concerned glances sent his way after they were uttered. The eldest was pacing back and forth between bookshelves, hand on his chin and eyes darkened. Though they were focused, he didn't seem to truly be seeing anything.

Leo was sitting on the velvet couch nearby with Elise curled up right next to him, blonde head resting on his shoulder. Usually, he'd have a book out, but today he just rested his cheek on his fist and watched Xander pace. Occasionally, the firstborn would slow down and his steps would falter as he looked up in thought, but it was always received with displeasure judging by the sour look on his face that followed immediately after. Then, he'd return to pacing.

"Big brother's scaring me," Elise whispered, little hands gripping Leo's arm as she looked up at him, eyes wide.

He didn't return her look, only keeping his own eyes ahead, "He's just concerned."

Xander's hand slammed down on the table, the books jolting and sliding off with the sudden impact, "Of course I'm concerned! How could I not be? Corrin is out there with a criminal, one that isn't even reformed by the looks of him."

"I must say that I'm not enjoying this either," Sighing, Camilla leaned back in her chair, purple locks falling over her shoulder like a waterfall as she cocked her head, "Darling little Corrin… scared and alone… without big sister to help protect her. Poor thing."

It would be a lie to say Leo wasn't concerned either. He was, maybe even moreso than the others. He was the first one awake and fretting about in the library where they always met as a family. It seemed that no one else could earn sleep either, as soon enough the room was filling up with his equally concerned siblings. Xander liked to move when he was worried, and Elise just wanted something to hang onto. Leo, on the other hand, made plans.

"She can take care of herself," He reasoned outloud, "But Hans does have much more experience than her. Years worth of training cannot match up to actual experience on the battlefield… But it's not as if Father sent her on a death mission. She's just investigating an abandoned fort. He wouldn't send her to her death."

Silence. This was received with only a heavy, pregnant silence.

Leo seemed to inwardly recoil at his words. Even Elise was tensed up, though she looked ashamed about it, big doll eyes directed towards the ground and seeming to stay glued there. Camilla was fidgeting with her hair, while Xander had stopped to take a big breath and watch his fingers drum upon the table he stood beside. The elephant in the room was entirely obvious, being just one question.

Would father send Corrin to her death?

Camilla was the blessing of reassurance that broke the silence, "He wouldn't, but we don't know this Hans character. We don't know what he'll do, no matter if he's earned Father's loyalty or not."

"He hasn't earned our loyalty yet." Xander gave her a steady look, then cast it out farther towards Leo and Elise. Leo subconsciously straightened up against the couch and looked his older brother in the eyes, all a force of habit from years of seeing him only give that look when in front of troops. It was odd to see it one on one, so close up. This was the man that spurred armies.

He knew what he had to do. "Then let's go check up on her." Was Leo's affirmative response, and this immediately earned a pleased smile from his elder brother.

"Yay! We're gonna go see Corrin!" Elise was the first one up and running out of the room, her footsteps bounding down the stone hallway to her own bedroom to change into her armor. Her ability to change moods with so much energy, instead of feeling every negative thought that may lurk in her heart like a lingering cloud was something Leo tended to envy. Despite the rousing from Xander, he couldn't shake off the feeling of uneasiness, it was nearly suffocating.

He had barely been able to keep his eyes open when in bed earlier. It felt like a flashback to his pre teen years, when his resentment was growing like a thunderhead above him, about to strike out in a flash of lightning that blinded his whole family and left him a smoldering black lump of nothing. He almost imagined it every time his throat closed up and he had grown too tired of staring up at his ceiling. Those were the worst days, when Leo had been left alone to his own devices while Corrin was fawned over, and he couldn't help but hate his big sister for who she was. He knew he deserved to be that lump of charred, black nothing.

The insomnia was back. Of course after he finally got rid of it, it would rear it's ugly head again. For the last few nights it just simply took an extra hour for him to slip into dreams, but tonight was the first one where sleep refused to come in the first place. Every limb felt heavy, yet he pulled himself up on his horse anyway. He had to go see Corrin, be her dose of realism while she kept her head in the clouds. That was the least he could do for her after all his resentment.

\---------------------------------------------------

Corrin hated the look of blood on her new blade.

It felt wrong. The air was thick with tension, her own head feeling even thicker. Next to her, Gunter's horse even seemed uneasy. He clenched the reigns and gave a sigh that seemed to start at his toes up and escape out his mouth, "At least it's over."

"I didn't kill anybody… do you think they're hurt?" Corrin could only glance behind her at Jakob, who was kneeling down beside a few knocked out bodies. He touched his stave to their bodies and watched as the golden light tingled around the wound and mended every cut and break. Corrin wanted to repent, regretting even hurting these soldiers. It didn't matter that she wasn't the one that started it all, it didn't matter that Hans was the one who's axe slid right down through a soldier's body like butter, starting from the shoulder and exiting out the side. She hated him. She never thought she would ever hate anybody, but she hated Hans. She would never forgive him for that memory replaying over and over behind her eyelids.

"They're just knocked out," Jakob tutted in reply, "We don't have much time before they wake up."

"My lady, we should tie them up just in case." Gunter began to slide off his horse and pull out some rope from a bag attached to his saddle. Corrin could finally let herself breath with relief - it was over. She wasn't a killer, and she had succeeded in Father's mission. She would just leave with bad nightmares and dried blood to clean off her sword.

The fort loomed in front of her like a small castle. She looked up at the battlements where canons sat patiently, waiting to be of use. Such big war machines, meant to cause so damage. She couldn't help but frown as she looked at the gaping mouths above her.

"Let's try to hurry." She had to tear her gaze away and back to the wooden door of the fort. It should be easy enough to get inside, and judging by the cloudy grey skies she assumed she would need to take shelter soon enough, rain would be falling very soon. With the large cliffs surrounding them, she had a feeling that a heavy enough rain would cause a few landslides. Death by falling rock wasn't exactly on Corrin's list.

The voice that came next seemed to be part of the shadows.

It was a man, and her assumption of him being made of shadows was correct. She gasped as she looked at him, eyes wide. He stepped out from the trees and shrubbery, smoothly as if he belonged there. His face was serious, but voice amused as he appraised Corrin before him. Next to her, Gunter's horse whinnied and reared back, and Jakob ran to take his place beside Corrin. "You? You're the leader of these troops?  
She tensed up defensively, mouth twisting into an uncharacteristic scowl. She was much too tired to be attempting any form of politeness, especially towards this man who just screamed danger. Her eyes went to the knives attached to his hips and sides, having a feeling that he knew exactly how to use them too. "I wouldn't call us troops, but yes. I am." Jakob was about to step in front of her protectively, with Gunter on her other side moving to shield her. Yet she moved between them to step up, knowing that as the recognized leader, she couldn't allow herself to be sheltered like this. She had spent her entire life sheltered. She wouldn't take that anymore.

"Pah," He spat, "You're just a little girl… My name is Saizo."

"Nice to meet you, Saizo." Her tone was anything but friendly, "Why are you here?"

His mouth was covered with a black mask, removing any expression she could've possibly read on his face. His amusement had slipped away as he took another step forward, reinforcements rustling in the bushes around him and emerging from the woods. Pegasi, lance weilders, archers - too many for Corrin to ever take on with her paltry little group. And it would be too difficult to begin a tactical movement when they were this close.

"I…" He drew her attention once more, "Have come to claim your life."

Her heart seemed to crawl up through her chest and to her throat, yet her limbs were immediately in action. She gripped her sword tighter, Jakob lashing out his dagger to make the first hit. Across from her Saizo, tensed up like a cat that was about to pounce. It was just in a second, Corrin would defend her life and possibly have to kill someone. The image of an axe slicing a soldier in half, eyes rolling back so only the veiny whites showed, forced it's way into her brain. She hated Hans. She hated this mission. She hated this sword and this war.

Yet, the sun parted through the clouds in the form of black and purple armor on a war horse.

"I will not allow it!"

Xander's horse was skidding to a stop in front of her, sword raised high and shining bright in the evening light. He looked angry, furious with the assassin that would dare to make an attempt on his little sister's life. She gasped in relief - Xander was a shining sun bursting in to save the day even years later, this being the second time he had saved her life from an attacker, wolf or human alike.

"Xander! You came!" She could've dropped to her knees right then and there. There were a million things she could've done in her relief, yet one thing stood out among every feeling. Just a flicker, a split second, a feeling of worry.

What if Xander wouldn't be there to save her one day?

She had to force the question out of her mind and instead focus on the fight in front of her. Behind Xander, Leo was riding up on his own horse with his tome clutched in his hand like a life line. Elise had her stave at her side as she followed and stopped in front of Corrin. Overhead, there was Camilla, purple hair trailing behind her like a waving flag. They were her wall, her protection. As a leader, she should be the one protecting people, yet it always felt like she'd be stuck in a shelter. Forever and always just little princess Corrin, having to hide behind walls - whether they be made of stone or of siblings.

What if Xander wouldn't be there to save her? What if there was no way he could come riding, dashing in with his sword bright as the sun and his face ready for battle? What if Leo couldn't be there to keep her steady, eyes warm with something unexplainable as he reminded her of what she needed to hear. What if Camilla wasn't there to sting the people who hurt her with words like a poison barb, soft hands feeling motherly on her shoulders? What if Elise wasn't there to be the lantern in the darkness, the one who brightened the day and cleared the rain from every bad situation?

She didn't know if she would be able to go on without them. And as she watched Leo reach out a black gloved hand, purple runes floating up around him as his lips moved too quickly for her to ever read, she felt sad with the thought she might have to learn just how to. This was battle. This was war. She looked up to see Camilla grinning hungrily with a wicked axe in her hand, dive bombing poor soldiers to knock them off the side of the cliff, right into the emptiness below. She might not see her again, it might be this battle, or the one after that, or after that. All Corrin knew she didn't want to prepare for a world without any of her siblings.

"Go! Retreat, we'll take care of them!" Xander commanded as he reared up his horse to strike against Saizo, who was defending with all his strength against the Nohrian prince. Corrin just locked eyes with the assassin for a second, wondering just what sent him there in the first place. Yet beside her, Gunter was putting a gloved hand on her shoulder and pulling her away. She had to leave, she had to go.

As she began her hasty retreat, she knew that she didn't want to prepare. She had to be as strong as her siblings, as bright and as beautiful and as fierce. There was nothing in the world that would come between them, death included. Corrin just had to make sure of that.

She wasn't looking ahead to crossing the rickety, breaking bridge before her. Gunter's horse even seemed nervous about it, but the elder shushed it with a few soft words and the touch of a hand. She wished she could be shushed down like that, her anxiety soothing with just a touch. It wasn't possible, though, and she had to be strong. Xander wouldn't fear of crossing a bridge. With that thought in mind, she forced herself to take the first step, her heart skipping a beat. But as she began to take off into a hasty run, the lack of Jakob caught her attention like a hook on a fish, pulling her back to the situation at hand and out of her day dream. Her butler was nowhere to be found, not behind her nor in front of her. It was odd to not see the man at her side, foreign even. Her running slowed, her muscles tense, "Where's Jakob?"

"He'll be sure to catch up." Gunter reassured, yet this was not like reassuring an animal. Corrin was still on edge despite it. In the distance, the fighting kept on, and she could see Camilla diving from the skies, axe glinting against the oranges and pinks of the sunset. It would be dark soon, Jakob being alone was the last thing she wanted.

The princess began to turn around, "We have to find him-"

Words were halted. Eyes widened. The sight in front of her made her sick to her stomach.

Hans. He stood there, looking tired and weary as if he had just ran a mile. Yet he stood straight, with the tip of his axe brushing against the wood of the bridge. His smile was tired, lacking humor, not holding even an ounce of friendliness in it. "'Fraid you can't do that, your highness."

Before Corrin could even get a word in edgewise, the mountain of a man was lurching forward and running. She couldn't understand how he ran so fast while holding such a heavy weapon, but mid run he raised it and swung it at Gunter. Fortunately, the blade hit against the armored horse with a loud clang and clink, yet it was enough to cause the beast to scream in terror and lean, standing on it's hind legs with it's hooves kicking the air in front of it.

Corrin met Gunter's eyes, yet her knees were frozen in shock. Every breath she could've had was halted. Gunter's eyes were haunting, terrified and pleading, almost as if asking her to help him. She took a step forward and reached out a hand weakly, but it was no use as the beast lost balance and began to topple backwards. The bridge shook and creaked and nearly knocked Corrin down. Gunter was the one that fell, though, any trace of him disappearing into the darkness as if he was never there in the first place.

The princess felt on fire. She was fire. And Hans had the nerve to smile at her.

"How. Could you."

The words were seething, hissed in fury. There was no thought, no doubt, no rationality in her mind as she raised her sword and felt her veins tear apart. It was like extreme growth pains, something shooting from her limb through every bone and right into her heart. Her skin bubbled and turned white, growing and ripping apart. It was agonizing, but she wouldn't register it at that time. She only felt fire, she only wanted her blade to feel revenge.

The satisfaction at seeing Hans's smirk fall was more than what she needed to knock him backwards. Her sword made contact with his fur armor, but she felt no impact. She only watched as he flew backwards, as if pulled away by an unknown force. Yet, he wasn't. She knew deep inside her that it was her who did that. It was her arm that resembled the dragon's claw just now, all the immense strength that sent Hans through the air like a rag doll was her own.

The block in her throat melted away as her arm began to tingle and return to normal, exhaustion washing over Corrin in waves. She could no longer hold herself up, falling to her knees instead and squeezing her eyes shut. What was that?

There would be no explanation for herself. The bridge had taken enough abuse, yet the cracks and snaps of the ropes breaking from tension went unheard. She didn't have time to investigate the noises, nor the sharp jerks of a breaking bridge under her. She merely pulled herself to the side and leaned over to peer into the darkness below her. That's where Gunter was. That's where she was going once the boards under her snapped and the world disappeared from under her.

Her stomach rose up into her throat, eyes widening in sheer terror and panic. She could only wonder how long of a fall this would be.

\------------------

Leo's bad feeling was coming true, it seemed. He should take up prophecying maybe, starting telling the future like one of those gnarled witches with their crystal balls. He wasn't sure he'd want to wear the big hoop earrings like they had, though, they weren't really his style.

"I knew it," His mutter was meant only for his ears, but it earned a glance from Elise beside him, "She's disappeared. Just into thin air."  
"She's just hiding!" Elise reassured, though every word felt fake, as if she was trying to convince herself of this too, "Sister wouldn't run away from us!"

No, Leo could only hope she was just hiding. Yet, he didn't think she would run away either. He knew her too well, if Corrin had the choice of being there among her siblings, she would be. Camilla, too, knew this. "No, she wouldn't run away darling, she wouldn't hide."

Silence fell between the three, a heavy and suffocating silence. Corrin wouldn't hide. Corrin wouldn't have gone too far. Gunter and Jakob weren't even to be seen anywhere, and that was enough to tell them that something was very, very wrong here.

Xander rode up from the distance, where he had been searching for the lost sister just now. He looked puzzled, yet stern, the mask that hid his true feeling of concern. Leo knew it wasn't being shown right now for Elise and Camilla's sake. Yet for him? Xander wouldn't hold back, he wouldn't coddle his strong, prodigy little brother. "Leo, we need to discuss something. Sisters, please keep searching."

The girls complied and began their search in the forest nearby, stepping over the bodies of soldiers that hadn't gotten the chance to retreat. It seemed so natural that the corpses were there, as if they had seen too many battles to even be shocked by the sight anymore. Leo wasn't either, nobody was, and he hated that.

But Xander took no notice. He merely sighed and looked at his brother, the mask of sternness melting away to reveal concern, "The bridge is entirely broken, there're only the posts left."

That's when he could feel his stomach churn again. Uneasiness had returned, exactly what kept him up at night. Yet, composure was the most important factor in these situation. Ignoring every thought racing through his mind, Leo merely clutched Brynhildr tighter and raised a quizzical eyebrow at his brother, "Do you think she…?"

He could've hit himself. Xander shouldn't have to answer that when the conclusion was so obvious, it surrounded them both, it filled the air. Leo knew the answer to his question, he'd known it from the minute he heard about the bridge.

Xander didn't answer anyway.

Leo felt very small. He felt powerless, a feeling that hadn't touched him since he had gotten Brynhildr. His throat was heavy as if he swallowed a bundle of pebbles and they stuck there, refusing to move and let him just breath. He just wanted to breath. He just wanted to consider every possibility of what could've happened. Corrin could've gotten across the bridge in time. She could've climbed back up. She could've been running from something and just destroyed the bridge once she made it to the other side. He had to hold onto these things, these hopes. Just for keeping himself alive.

If Corrin was dead for entirely sure right now, there would be no way he could live with all the resentment bubbled up inside of him. There was so much there, so much just festering over the years. So much unsaid and unworked out. He refused to believe she was dead, not when he hadn't searched every edge of the earth looking for her. Not when there were still corners unchecked.

He grabbed the reigns of his horse and steered it away from Xander, frowning, "We still have searching to do, brother."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin meets her blood family, but tragedy strikes, and she thinks herself a monster.

"Please, if you're going to execute me, just do it already."

 

  Corrin never thought she would be begging for execution, not after just being out of her castle for a week at the most. Her life had been stone walls and big gates keeping her away from the world. The minute she got out, she found some way to mess it up. Of course she did, she was beginning to think Leo's claims of her having the devil's own luck were the farthest from the truth it could get.

 

  She shut her eyes to the throne room, taking a deep breath and waiting for her head to be sliced off by the long haired man that stood in front of her. She could hear him chuckle, Rinkah making a noise of confusion at the sight of the Nohrian princess waiting for her execution. A few more seconds passed, and she felt no sword at her neck. Opening her eyes to look around her at the lit up room, she was surprised to see that the golden and orange Hoshidan decorations _weren't_ currently splattered with her blood.

 

  "Peace, we won't be killing you anytime soon. Or ever, really." The prince held up a calloused hand in front of him, "We merely want to talk, Kamui."  
 

 There was that name again. Rinkah had called her that when sitting in her little shack, where Corrin sat in front of the fire to warm up before coming to this palace in the city. Rinkah had never _stopped_ calling her Kamui, even after she informed her that her name was Corrin. Was there something she was missing?

 

  "My name's Corrin." She reminded him, voice polite out of respect. He was so tall, yet looked very kind, not nearly as intimidating as Xander was naturally. The thought made her stomach curl up in itself, making her miss Xander.

 

  "And I am Ryoma," He didn't seem phased by her correction, just going on to gesture to himself and cross his arms back over his chest, "Do you know where you are?"

 

  She glanced at the luxuriant throne, with the light from the windows shining down on it as if it was made for the Gods, large glass panelling fanning around it like they were butterfly wings, and the throne was about to take off into the sky. So that was the throne Father wanted to take. What a sad conquest, just for a chair and the power that came with it. She looked back at Ryoma, "In Hoshido. Um… the castle?"

 

  "Yes." He was pleased by her answer, "There is someone I would like you to meet."

 

  "Aren't you going to execute me? I attacked your fort, some of your men were killed because I was there," An axe slicing a body in half like butter came into her mind, sending a shudder down her spine as she spoke, "That's an act of war!"

 

  Ryoma's eyes softened, "You lost a few men yourself, didn't you?"

 

   Gunter and Jakob both. Jakob had merely disappeared, though it was safe to say he was probably taken, captured or killed on the spot. She frowned at that, with the memory of Gunter's terrified look in his eyes still haunting her. She had never seen her caretaker so scared, so startled, not even when she herself was in danger. That was enough to unnerve her to the point of wanting to hurl up on this clean, marble flooring. The Queen here probably wouldn't appreciate her doing that, though.

 

  She merely blinked owlishly in reply, her lips parting as she tried to think of something to say. What was there to even reply with? 'Oh yeah we both lost good men, so let's call it even and you just let me go home, huh?' Again, the royalty would not appreciate that.

 

  It was fortunate for Corrin that a clear voice interrupted her thoughts, letting her go without replying to Ryoma's softly spoken words, "Kamui, how good it is to see you." She watched as Ryoma straightened up, smiling at whoever spoke in a familiar, friendly way. There was that name again, so foreign and odd to hear on herself. Turning around to correct who had said it, she was interrupted by slim arms wrapping around her, and a head of long black hair burying itself into her shoulder.

 

  She was stiff, entirely frozen in spot. This woman's skin was soft, smelling of honey, coupled with the warm feeling of her arms around her. She was expecting her grip to tighten any second now and begin squeezing every breath she had out of her lungs, yet this never happened. She didn't hug like Camilla or Elise did, her hug was soft, almost what she would expect a motherly touch to feel like. Yet, she still needed answers, "W-Who… are you?"

 

  The woman pulled back, eyes softened as she looked Corrin up and down. She was her height, sharing the same cheekbones and lips as she did, yet her eyes were softer, almost like a fireplace in the dead of winter. Her hands stayed on Corrin's shoulders as she began to speak, "I am your mother, and _you're_ my sweet daughter. It's been so long…" The statement seemed to drain energy from her, making her close her eyes and lower her voice to a whisper, "Much too long. I've missed you so much."

 

  Mother.

 

 That was preposterous. She didn't have a mother. As a child, she used to think she was hatched from an egg, or dropped down the chimney by a bird and banged her head so hard she lost all her memories and had to be sent to the Northern Fortress for her own safety. They were lonely, yet safe thoughts. This black haired woman with kind eyes couldn't be her mother.

 

  "Mother…" Corrin spoke as if she was tasting the word on her tongue, "I… I'm not Hoshidan."

 

 Her hand rested on Corrin's cheek, warm and soft as if it belonged there, "They've been lying to you, my little Kamui. King Garon stole you from me. Your father, Sumeragi, he took you to Cheve for a peace conference because you wanted to see all the knights, we just couldn't resist your cute little pleas and begs," Her smile turned sad, "It was a trap, Kamui. Garon stole you…"

 

  The world around her could've been falling down right that second, and she wouldn't have noticed. This entire castle could be attacked, turned into rubble, and Corrin would still be looking into this woman's eyes. Mother. She seemed like a mother. All her years she had wondered what it would feel like to have parents, and the closest she had ever gotten were the affectionate smiles from Xander, the coos and kisses of Camilla. Still, it all felt wrong, just not aligning right. This woman's hand that was resting on her cheek felt perfectly right.

 

  "Why don't I remember you?" Her voice was a whisper, as if she was afraid this fantasy would shatter if she spoke any louder.

 

  Her eyes darkened, "I don't know. Garon probably did something to you… something to take your memories away. Please…" She took a step back and held Corrin's hand, now beginning to walk down a long hallway, "I will show you to your old room."

 

  Everything seemed like a blur to Corrin, this moment, her memories. Anything from her childhood before she was introduced by Xander to the others was simply a murky image, something shining at the bottom of a dirty pond. A man, standing in front of her, sword held aloft, then jaggedly falling to his side. A grey, calloused hand reaching out to her. That was the most vivid of her memories. There was the burning feeling of a thick, disgusting liquid being forced down her throat, and two hands holding her jaw open to push the bottle holding the liquid into her mouth. That was a memory that occasionally showed up in her dreams, it would start with the potion being forced down her throat, and end with Garon's face looking down at her as she coughed, like she was some pitiful dying animal, and it would all go murky again.

 

 "I want to know everything." She spoke up to the black haired woman - Mother, "Please, tell me everything of my childhood."

 

\------------------------------------------

 

Her Hoshidan family was a lot like her Nohrian family, and she could see herself getting attached to them just as she did with the others. Only, something was different in them. Nohr seemed closer, more like they only had each other, and that showed in every interaction, every little habit that arose between the siblings. In Hoshido, the air was clearer, the bonds strong but not forged by fear. It was a relieving change from the ever present terror that seemed to dig under her other siblings skin.

 

  She had met Sakura and Hinoka on the battlefield after Ryoma had announced they were in trouble and needed reinforcements. He had a been a whirlwind on rounding up Kaze and Rinkah to come help. It was in that monster infested field that Corrin met her _other_ older sister.

 

  Hinoka was fierce, dashing towards enemies with her naginata out and her war face on. She was the one that cried when she realized who Corrin was, calling her Kamui again and nearly suffocating her in a hug. She closed her eyes during it, placing her hands on Hinoka's back and taking in her scent, pretending it was Camilla that was trying to suffocate her, Camilla that missed her so much she cried. The uneasy feeling grew at this thought, making Corrin wish she could just be home right now. 

 

  Sakura was like a little cherry blossom falling to the ground. She was soft, moved carefully, and was rather pink. She ran up to Corrin, bowing with her festal in both hands as she greeted her older sister, "Big sister, it's very nice to meet you."

 

   Corrin melted into a smile. Sakura seemed warm, almost like a breezy day with the sun shining on her arms. Yet, she didn't hug her, it didn't feel quite right to embrace these strangers just yet, "Hi, I'm sorry I… wasn't there to see you grow up." The apology was clumsy, but felt like the right thing to do.

 

   Even Sakura seemed surprised by that, "T-That's okay! No worries! You didn't miss much."

 

   Corrin just sent her another smile, then took a sigh of a relief as she realized they weren't under attack anymore. No nightmares personified were bearing down on her. Ryoma seemed to notice her relief, and stepped forward with a friendly hand placed on her shoulder to inform her of exactly what they had just fought, "We call them the faceless," he nudged one of the great monsters with his foot. It was like a mass of green muscle, yet still squishy. Sort of reminded Corrin of the stews she would attempt to make in the kitchen, "They're Nohrian."

 

  Her stomach churned restlessly, "These are Nohrian?"  
 

  "Yes," She wouldn't forget this moment when Ryoma squared her with his sharp, clear eyes, as if he could see every impurity in the world. She suddenly began to feel self conscious, "These have no soul, so the mages make them to get through our defenses, where normal humans cannot. They're disgusting creatures, even turning on their makers and killing them. But Garon doesn't care, humans are just pawns to him."

 

  He had spoken as if Garon wasn't human. She supposed with all the misdeeds he had done, one lost the right to be considered a human being by now.

 

  There were three things that stood out to Corrin among the several days she was there in Hoshido. She would always remember her old room, so empty with it's toys tossed aside and little drawings of a mother she never got to know. It didn't really feel like her room, her room in the Northern Fortress was cluttered and filled with books and her clothes on the floor, very lived in. Leo always grimaced when he saw the mess, and she always smiled.

 

  Corrin would always remember Azura. She was like the water itself, yet so out of place among this Hoshidan family. It was no wonder she would keep to herself and walk along the pond instead of visiting new guests or acting like a true princess of Hoshido. She was almost dream-like, almost unnerving to be around. "I like it here," Azura had said, "I am treated well, I grew up here. They're my family, even if we're not blood related."

 

  That thought wouldn't leave her mind since it was uttered.

 

  Corrin couldn't feel joy at meeting her new family when she compared to them to her Nohrian one, she could do nothing but ask question after question, trying to unravel this tightly wound mystery that now surrounded her. One string at a time, that's all she could manage before her throat would close up again and she would have to take a break. Mikoto would pat her shoulder and pour her some tea, ever the patient mother as her child attempted to figure out everything wrong with the past 21 years.

 

  "I would like you to sit on my throne, Kamui," Mikoto had said, "It is infused with the power of the First Dragons, it is said that those who sit on it regain their true form and mind."

 

  Corrin didn't know if she wanted to regain her true form and mind. Who would she be? Kamui? The princess of Hoshido that she was meant to be all this time? Corrin didn't exactly feel like herself anymore, and she didn't know if she wanted to lose her other siblings because of this. If she became Kamui, what would become of Corrin? The girl living in the Northern Fortress with her siblings at her side, happy despite her life being imprisoned. The thought of that made her yearn to have it again, despite the new walls everybody here wanted her to call home.

 

   She felt a flicker of anger, and frowned at her mother, "Does this mean you can't trust me? Do you think I'm under some kind of spell?"

 

  "No!" Her eyes widened, then grew soft again, "I just worry that the Nohrians have been sealing away your early memories. Taking away those precious times you spent with me and your siblings."

 

   She said 'Nohrians' as if she was directly referring to her family. It wasn't as if Xander commanded her servants to sneak memory loss potions into her drinks, or there was some huge conspiracy behind her entire life. She was a prisoner, but her siblings were not the wardens. She could only recall the lessons in composure that Leo had taught her - the guide to winning chess was to never let your opponent see your emotions, never reveal your next move. While her mother wasn’t her opponent, it felt like she was implying Nohr _was_. She had to compose herself, not show her emotions and play every move right. So nodding softly, she looked away, "I see."  
 

  "I'm sorry," Mikoto put a soft hand on hers, earning her attention again, "I don't want to push you towards something you're not ready for, or something you don't want in the first place."

 

   She wasn't ready for this, she didn't know what she even wanted. Fortunately, Mikoto didn't require an answer. She merely smiled softly at her daughter and began to pour the tea again, talking softly about the growth of the tea leaves here and their medicinal properties. Corrin's mind wasn't with the conversation, it was miles and miles away back with Elise and her silly little tea parties with the stuffed bears that wore eyeglasses and ties. Her mind was back with Camilla as she laced up the back of her dress so tight she could barely breath, but merely told her she'd get extra cake if she could make it through the night, and that being enough to motivate Corrin to keep going.

 

   It was Yukimura that jogged her out of her reverie. He had entered the room, standing there properly as he announced, "Lady Mikoto, the ceremony is about to begin."

 

   Corrin looked at her mother, wide eyed, "Ceremony?"

 

   Behind Yukimura, her other siblings began to walk up to fetch her as well, stopping as the Queen smiled softly and cocked her head, "I would like to announce your presence here publically, Kamui."

 

   "O-Oh…" A public announcement was enough to cause some pink to warm her cheek. She could imagine the amount of people there, the amount of eyes on her. She certainly wasn't used to that kind of attention, especially when she had previously been seen as Nohrian in a country that was being constantly attacked _by_ Nohr.

 

   "I've arranged Hinoka, Sakura, and Takumi to give you a tour," Mikoto went on, "Azura, would you mind tagging along?"

 

   Azura was in the corner of the room, milling about like a ghost watching the scene before her. She seemed surprised to be spoken to directly, "Oh, yes. Not at all, it would be my pleasure." A smile graced her lips, but a subtle frown twisted Corrin's. She couldn't help but wonder if Azura really was happy here like she said, it always seemed like she should be elsewhere, like she wasn't meant for this place. Corrin supposes that's how she should've felt among her Nohrian siblings, yet it was the Hoshidan castle where she felt the most out of place.

 

   The group began to walk off, leaving Ryoma, Mikoto and Yukimura behind. Corrin took her place beside Azura as she walked out into the streets, having to hold her siblings hands so they wouldn't get lost in the crowds. It was like a sea of people, all pushing and shoving to get to whatever food stand they wanted. Painted lanterns hung from building to building, earning Corrin's attention as she stared up at them in awe. This truly was a beautiful country, with beautiful people to match, always warm and breezy in the most pleasant way.

 

   A bookstand caught her eye, filled with scrolls and drafts written in ancient Hoshidan. She lit up as she walked towards it, wondering if she might have the opportunity to take Leo here one day. He'd enjoy all of this, he'd only complain a _little_ just for good measure. Elise would be having a blast among the crowd, grabbing the ceremonial masks and putting them on her face, pretending she was a fox demon as she flitted her way around the people. Corrin could just see it now.

 

  "This is such a contrast to the fortress I grew up in," Corrin remarked, tasting the butter and spice in the potato she had gotten from a kind old lady, she was sure her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, "It's so nice here, so bright and open."

 

   "I'm glad you like it," Azura gave a soft giggle, "Like I said the other day, I've always loved it here."

 

   Takumi, on the other hand, was much less accommodating to his new sister. He made Corrin feel cold, though there were flashes of warmth beneath his icy exterior, they shined through when he least expected it, and she wasn't the type to dislike someone just because of how they treated her. In fact, she didn't blame Takumi for how he received her, she had been expecting something like it from day 1. "Just don't get too comfortable, _sister_." He seemed to spit the word out of his mouth, like it was something rotten on his tongue, "I don't trust you. Shouldn't you be going back to Nohr soon?"

 

  _Yes._ "I don't blame you."

 

  "Takumi, please stop," Azura held up a small, pale hand, "This is a special day for Mikoto."

 

  He seemed to erupt at that, "Who said you could call me by my name? You haven't earned that privilege either!"

 

  "But," Corrin furrowed her brows in confusion, "Azura has been here in Hoshido for as long as I've been in Nohr."

 

  "Yes, and that's exactly where you should be." Takumi's words were poison, biting and stinging. Yet, despite the hurt, she knew he was right. She did have a family to get back to, she did belong back in Nohr. She watched as Takumi turned around and stalked back into the crowd, brown hair disappearing among the sea of bodies. Relief flooded her system as he left, though the only thing she wanted to do was follow his words and go back to Nohr.

 

   "He's such a hothead," Hinoka clicked her tongue derisively, stepping up beside Corrin, "Well, the ceremony is about to begin, we should go!"

 

  Despite her so called brother's rudeness, this wasn't what stuck in Corrin's mind, haunted her dreams or left her a permanent impression of her time spent in Hoshido. This wasn't the 3rd point of this journey that stood out to her. The 3rd point was the worst, the most gruesome, and the one that wouldn't dare to leave her mind for the rest of her years.

 

  It was the ceremony.

 

  She stepped up to say hello to her mother, who greeted her with a smile. If Corrin was more observant, she'd have noticed the sadness in it. If Corrin had better reflexes, she would've noticed the chill that blanketed over the crowd. If Corrin had been more observant, she wouldn't be haunted with dreams of this moment everytime she slept.

 

  She had never been the type to focus on the 'if only's'. She had always been the type to just look ahead, look past the mistakes and instead learn from everything she did wrong. This was different, that was something she could never _not_ question. It was in this moment that the sword at her side began to shimmer and shake, almost as if it had come alive by itself. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest as she looked down at her side. If only she had grabbed it, if only she had kept a hand on that sword hilt and been strong enough.

 

  It wrenched itself from her side and nearly knocked her over in the process. She lifted her head to watch it fly into the hand of a shimmery, hooded figure, almost a ghost among the living. He grabbed the sword, arching himself down and shoving it into the cobblestone ground in front of him. She knew she had to do something, she had to stop him. Beside her, Ryoma had a hand on his sword, uncertain of what was even happening.

 

  A ball of purple magic grew in size around the weapon. Corrin could taste the spiced potatoes growing bitter on her tongue as she watched it spread into an eruption of destruction, pulling up bricks and buildings and bodies, sending them flying in it's wake as it spread across the ground. The world seemed to shake under her, she couldn't tell if that was simply her panic, or if everything was exploding upon itself.

 

  Purple was the color of Nohr. The color of darkness. She could comprehend that just for the purple shards to fly right at her. She didn't move, she didn't breath. They whizzed past her ears and head and blew back her hair, yet several in a small group came flying right towards her chest, where she couldn't possibly dodge in time. A gasp reached her clouded ears, and Mikoto was in front of her before she knew it.

 

   A mother always gives her life for her children.

 

   The chaos seemed to stop.

 

   The world _itself_ had frozen in time.

 

    Everything was quiet as the Queen's shoulders slumped forward, and she coughed, a small red trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth. Corrin gripped her arms to steady her, like a desperate plea to keep her standing, to keep her alive. "M-Mother…"

 

  "Kamui…" She looked up at her, clear eyes now becoming clouded, "Are you hurt?"

 

   She couldn't control what came from her mouth, it was as if someone else was moving her lips for her, "I'm okay…"

 

  The blood painted her lips red as she smiled softly, and Corrin could feel her heart leap into her throat and squeeze so hard she couldn't breath, "I'm glad…"

 

   Corrin never had enough time to love her the way she deserved.

 

  That was the thought that set her off. She could register feeling her mother's blood through her clothes, staining her hand, warm and sticky and entirely devastating. She could barely register Ryoma raising a sword and yelling out at the hooded culprit of it all. Maybe he was hooded because that was Corrin under there all along, and Corrin wasn't herself. She certainly didn't feel like herself as she laid her mother's body on the ground, and her limbs began to tear away at each other. Every bone was breaking in her body, every piece of flesh seeming to rip itself off. This is who she was. This was why Garon kept her in that castle. He was protecting the world from her.

 

  She didn’t register what it meant when someone yelled, "It's an ancient dragon, I never thought I'd see the day…" The noise was heard, but not listened to. Corrin couldn't listen to _anything_ as the ground grew farther away from her, and she stomped a white claw onto the cobblestone, feeling it shatter and break under her immense strength.

 

  She was angry. She was anger incarnate. The last thing she registered was Azura, walking towards her with her arms wide, mouth open as if she was singing. She couldn't hear anything, it was like listening to someone through a heavy door.

 

  Corrin flung out a large claw, knocking her down and stopping that stupid, ear piercing song. Yet, it kept going, kept pushing and prodding at the girl underneath the monster. She slammed a claw down on Azura's neck, pinning her there and baring her teeth at the form below her.

 

  Silence fell. That song had stopped. Azura merely stared up at her with olive colored eyes, the fear satisfying the dragon that Corrin had become.

 

   "Kill me if you want…" Azura whispered, a secret between the two, "But… do it as yourself."  
 

   It was time to wake up.

 

  She sat back on the ground, her breath sucked out of her as she tried to catch it once again. She had to close her eyes as the dam in her mind broke, releasing all the memories like water onto her brain. Arrows flying, her father jerking and grunting as he was killed. Garon's heavy footsteps as he approached her, boasting lowly. She remembers the fear, the shaking terror as this walking corpse dressed in King's clothes reached out a hand to pick her up by her neck like a stray kitten. She recalled being held still forcefully, eyes fluttering with a haze as Garon forced the potion down her throat, erasing everything she ever had of her life before.

 

  There was hardly enough time to register what happened as she sat on the ground, Azura's small body beside her shaking with fear. Yet she took a breath, composed herself and sat up as she looked at Corrin. She didn't want to return that piercing gaze, not with the migraine and every joint on her body screaming in pain. All she knew was that song, something about grey waves. It calmed her, unclouded her mind, made her whole again.

 

  "What happened…" She seemed to whisper it just to herself, refusing to look at anybody. She knew if she looked up in this moment, she would just be surrounded by fearful, judging eyes. Even she was fearful of herself, and she knew she would never be the same.

 

  "You turned into an ancient dragon," Azura responded, oddly calm with her near death experience.

 

  "I'm… disgusted. I'm so sorry," She wanted to cry as she wrapped her arms around Azura, closing her eyes and burying her face into her shoulder. This seemed to startled the blue haired girl, but she laid a hand on her back in return anyway, "I'm a monster."

 

  "You're not a monster!" Hinoka informed her fiercely, "You're not a monster! You'll never be a monster! You couldn't help yourself, you… You're not a monster."

 

  Corrin pulled back to look at her. Her older sister with hair like fire and eyes to match. She was so adamant, she didn’t know if Hinoka was chanting this to remind Corrin, or to remind herself. The thought made her throat swell, and tears to sting at her eyes. She looked around her at the rubble and destruction of the once happy, lively city, "I did this."

 

  "This was not you," Ryoma's voice was booming as he stepped forward, gesturing to the destruction around him as he looked at her, "This was the work of the Nohrians. They're evil, pure evil. _They_ did this. King Garon masterminded this whole thing."

 

   Takumi seemed to hiss as he stepped up, " _No_ , it was her fault. Let her take the blame, if she hadn't of showed up on our doorstep, mother wouldn't be dead. Our home wouldn't be destroyed, innocent lives wouldn't have been taken!"  
 

  Azura began to respond, but Corrin wouldn't listen. She merely put a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath and shutting her eyes to it all, trying to drown it out with the sound of her own breathing. She was a monster, she did this. She didn't like being an instrument in Garon's plans, yet she knew that being an instrument of Hoshido wouldn't do anything. Garon was too strong, her siblings loyalty too tightly wound to him to ever see the truth of the matter. He was a monster too - shouldn't _she_ be the one to personally get rid of him?

 

  "I'm sorry, I've brought nothing but pain." She told them, though she knew the apology was empty. Mother lay dead nearby, this entire town destroyed. This was all empty, and Takumi was entirely right about her not belonging. No matter Hinoka's reassurance, no matter Sakura's apologies to Corrin. She didn't belong.

 

  Before anyone could argue this point, the sound of racing footsteps towards the group took up all the attention. Kaze stopped in front of Ryoma, bowing to his prince and lowering his head, "I have important news."

 

  The eldest merely sighed, "Speak."

 

  "A massive Nohrian force has gathered at our borders," An eerie stillness fell over the crowd, and Kaze merely looked up with his brows furrowed, lips forming a grimace, "They mean for war."

 

  Ryoma was the first to react. He was like a whirlwind, angry as he gripped his sword and nearly growled at the news. Corrin could feel Takumi's eyes on her again, judging and harsh. A Nohrian force, there was a chance her family was there, there was a chance she could go home. "This is the final straw," Ryoma spat out, "I have worked hard to avoid an all out war, but now… Death is too good for them."

 

  The words were an execution sentence of their own. Everybody began to imitate his anger, gathering up to grab their weapons and what they needed. Corrin had nothing to grab. She merely pushed herself up off the dusty, ruined ground, and began to follow the crowd out of the city and into the battle.

 

  Her legs were weak, shaky and still sore from her transformation. She had done that once before, when only her arm morphed and changed as she had thrown Hans back through the air. He was lucky she didn't go full on dragon then, he wouldn't be alive. The thought of killing someone still made her feel sick - yet this was ignored as a glimmer of gold caught her eye nearby.

 

  She glanced over, stopping behind the group to eye the golden object sticking up out of the ground. Nobody looked at her as she walked over, bare feet stepping on jagged rocks and pieces of wood. It looked like a sword, with the shining hilt in leather and the decoration matching the color of the blade. She leaned down, grabbing it with both hands and pulling it up out of the rubble. It came so easily, fitting just perfectly as if it was made for her.

 

   She held up, looking at her ghastly reflection in the blade. She looked wild, eyes wide and cheeks smushed with dirt and pebbles. It was Yukimura's voice that dragged her back down to earth, "C-Can it be?"  
 

  "What?" Corrin looked at him now.

 

  "That's… the yato!"

 

  "The whatta?" 

 

  "The yato," Yukimura was not amused, he merely stepped closer and lowered his voice, "They say it's the key to eternal peace. This is great news! I will go notify lord Ryoma!"

 

  She didn't know swords could have cognitive thoughts, let alone choose someone. She supposed she should be honored to have been chosen by such a weapon, yet there was the possibility that it was in someone's home, and had just got caught up in all the destruction. Or it was perhaps a replica of this fabled weapon. It didn't matter, it was a sword, and she needed a sword, she was much too tired to question whether she was chosen or not.

 

   Besides, a monster couldn't bring eternal peace.

 

 

 

\------------------------------------------

 

  It was 3 days ago that Corrin disappeared, and 3 days ago that Leo began to lose his mind.

 

  Metaphorically, of course, Leo's brain was still sharp as a tack. But his emotional state was less than sharp, it was like those dull swords he used to train with, thrown aside in the corner of his room on a dusty sword stand. Xander even seemed to notice something was wrong - but everybody had something wrong with them right now.

 

  "We'll find her," Xander reassured, moving up and down slightly as his horse trotted beside Leo's, trying to navigate over the rocky riverside as the army moved Southbound. It was like they were moving an entire city, the chaos of it all was deafening, just one big distraction from their soon invasion of Hoshido. Leo, on the other hand, only wished for silence.

 

  "I know that." His answer was curt, matching his thoughts, but not how he wanted to sound. Xander glanced at him and raised a blond eyebrow in question, making the younger brother sigh, "I apologize. I'm just tired."  
 

  They were all tired. Ever since that day at the fort when Corrin had gone missing, the family had been camping out outside in the wilderness, stretching out farther and farther along the border of Hoshido to search for Corrin. By the 2nd day, Camilla had just about had it with this mixture of humidity and stale air that was the usual around here. Her hair was frizzing up, losing it's curl. Leo glibly noticed that Elise's pigtails were becoming quite poofy, and Xander's waves looked like they were barely managed. Even his own hair had adopted a kink at the ends. It was something that made him smile, a connection between the 4 to identify them as a family. A shared miserableness.

 

   Hoshido was a pleasant, warm country. While Nohr was chilly, with a biting wind to match it's King. Nohr was cloudy, Hoshido was sunny. The border between the two countries always seemed like this inbetween, grey clouds up above occasionally revealing a blue sky. Warmth in the air turned stale and dripping with humidity. Leo's mood only matched the climate - heavy and dark.

  

  One thought stayed with him through their travels, refusing to ever leave his mind. If Corrin had died, she would've died with Leo resenting her. And that was enough to cause of a pit of guilt in his stomach, enough to make him want to find her and redeem himself, stop resenting her and just simply _love_ her like the rest of his siblings did. He was the worst little brother, the worst in the century. He had to find her.

 

  On their 3rd day of searching, a bigger goal presented itself, one that was sure to bring them right to Corrin.

 

  The motive was the small, white letter that stuck out of Xander's saddlebag. Leo could see the corner of it as he rode behind his brother. The letter was from father, and along with the letter came a sea of troops, and all the family's retainers. It was startling to wake up to the sound of an army approaching, but as Laslow bowed his head and handed Xander the letter, Leo felt like this was all planned. Xander merely grinned, looking at his curious siblings, "Father says that he's gotten reports of Corrin being in Hoshido, and we need to prove our strength by invading."

 

  Camilla had cocked her head, tearing her eyes away from the wyvern she was fitting with armor, "But wasn't there a magical barrier?"

 

  "Yes, father mentions that as well…" Xander squinted at the paper in his black gloved hands, "He just says it's down."  
 

  "That must mean the Queen is dead." Leo remarked. Changes were being made, and rather quickly too. This felt like the dawn of a new era, where war would become first priority in everybody's lives.

 

  "Well, he sent us an army," Xander glanced at the troops, "Let's get going."

 

   It took a day to march into the warm, clear weather of Hoshido. The skies were blue - Leo noted that the sun was a bit… too bright for his tastes. Even glancing up at it seemed to hurt his eyes. And his armor was made to keep him warm and unharmed from attacks, not cool. He was sweating under it, as was Xander. The girls seemed perfectly at ease in this land, excited even. He would be lying if he said he wasn't excited at the thought of seeing Corrin again. While she w _as_ his closest friend, the thought of resenting her now seemed so bitter to him. He couldn't live with that any longer, he had to make this right.

 

  And finally, on the grassy plains of Hoshido as Xander challenged the prince of this land, Leo saw her.

 

   She was followed by a brown haired boy, and a pink haired girl. The twisted purple sword was gone from her hands, replaced by a golden sword she carried as she approached the scene. Her hair was more wild than usual, her eyes big and startled as if she had the scare of her life. A pegasus rider flew overhead, finally landing behind the red clad prince and flashing her spear at the family that rode up behind Xander. Leo took his place at his brother's right hand, Camilla and her snarling wyvern at his left, with Elise behind Leo safely.

 

  "Corrin," Xander breathed in relief, "There you are. Come home with us now."  
 

  The red haired girl on the pegasi scowled, eyes widening as she looked at the prince of Nohr, "Go with _you_? Nohrians are monsters, Corrin's not a monster."

 

  Well, Corrin seemed to not agree. Leo could read her like a book, and even when he wasn't right beside her he could see her discomfort at the statement. The short, pink haired girl beside her merely patted her arm soothingly, while the archer on her other side glanced away, brows furrowing as if he was uncertain, yet felt bad about being so. What had happened while she was here? What had been so bad that she was with the royal family themselves, acting so casually as if she belonged there?

 

  "Corrin," Elise cried out, expression excited as she watched her sister, who nearly jumped at the yell. There was something wrong here, Leo could feel it with every bone in his body.

 

  "It's Kamui," The pegasus rider spat out, "And she's _our_ precious, long lost sister. Don't you _dare_ try to take her from us again!"

 

  " _Your_ sister?" Camilla curled her lip, offended, "I'm afraid you're mistaken, little boy, that's _our_ sister."

 

   "I'm not a boy!" The pegasus rider gasped, "And you're just lying! You're trying to confuse her!"

 

  He held his gaze on her face, gripping Brynhildr and just hoping, praying that she would look at him. Yet he was distracted by Elise moving in closer, making Leo pull his horse in front of hers to block her from going any farther, "Elise, I told you to stay behind m-" His breath stopped short in his throat as he happened to glance over again, and found that Corrin was looking at him. Right at him, through all the mess and the yelling of 'Come home' from both sides. He felt small, yet something was inkling to fruition inside of him, like a fire coming to life among a blizzard.

 

   "She is _our_ sister," Someone yelled, Leo didn't care who.

 

   "She's ours!"

 

   Her eyes remained on Leo, her voice obviously shaky as she tried to speak over the chaos, "I'm not worth warring over!"

 

   "You have to choose!" The pegasus rider commanded, "And you're going to choose us! Your real family, not your kidnappers!"

 

  "Kidnappers wouldn't love her like we do!"

 

   At that, Corrin looked at him once more.

 

   And every piece fell into place. He had to tear his eyes away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was too late, war had begun.

Leo was a smart child, always has been and always will be. He had been able to spell 'tergiversation' from memory at the age of 11. For someone so smart, he never would realize how he could be so blind.

 

  Corrin was not his sister. She was Kamui, she was taken from her home as a child, and she was in no way, shape or form, related to any of his siblings here. He realized this as he saw the Hoshidan family, with the same cheeks and tan skin, the foreign eyes. Corrin didn't exactly look the same, with the pointed ears and the sharper, determined tilt of her eyes, but her resemblance to them was far greater than any resemblance to someone from Nohr. But of course, it wasn't just the looks that helped him to realize this.

 

  The Hoshidans called out that Kamui was _their_ sister. Leo felt a heaviness in his chest as he recalled catching glimpses of reports his brother would get. Little 10 year old Leo cocking his head as he overheard Xander sending out troops to fight against small invading Hoshidan squads who were trying to get a 'Kamui' back. He didn't know who Kamui was, it was simply a name rarely heard in his youth. Once, when he had asked Xander about it, he got silence and a brush off instead.

 

  Kamui was his sister.

 

  With a weight settling on his shoulders, he didn't dare look at her again, as if he feared this was all his imagination. She certainly did look like she belonged there, yet despite that he couldn’t erase the image of her sitting in the library at the Northern Fortress, curled up next to him, feet bare as always. He couldn't erase the image of her sitting crosslegged in the grass out in the courtyard, just waiting patiently for a bird to come land on her outstretched hand. He couldn't forgot how her hair always matched the grey clouds of Nohr. Leo wouldn't cast that out of his mind for all the riches in the world.

 

"Come with us, little princess."  
 

  "Kamui! Come with us!"

 

  He looked back at her. She reached up to touch her ears, fingering the tip of them lightly. All these years later, she still wore that black headband religiously, the thought was enough to give Leo hope that she'd come to Nohr, right where she belonged.

 

 "Xander…" Everything went quiet with her voice ringing clear, "Father- Uh, Garon… He tried to kill me."  
 

  This news settled over the siblings like a heavy blanket. Elise looked heart broken, while Camilla looked as if she wanted to tackle Corrin and look her over for injuries. Leo, on the other hand, was merely expecting this all. Despite the quieting glance he received from Xander, he stepped up to speak, "Sister, no matter what he does, we will protect you." He took one step closer to her, eyes pleading. As he did this, the Hoshidan on the pegasus reared back as if she was about to attack. The brown haired one notched an arrow in his bow, about to shoot Leo for simply taking a step towards his own family. Leo couldn't help but scowl. He could kill these people with just a flick of his wrist, tear up the ground under them and let them feel true power. The same power that he would use to protect Corrin.

 

  Yet, his sister chose the role of the peace maker. She took a few steps to the side to gently knock the archer's arrow away and sent him a disapproving look, "I don't want anyone to fight."

 

  "How could we not fight?" Xander snapped at her, "They're trying to take you away from your real family!"

 

  "We a _re_ her real family, scum!" The archer retorted, passionate with his emotion as he shakily added another arrow to his bow, "Corrin, you have to make the right choice!"

 

  She looked surprised at him being so adamant about this, as if this was the first time he had shown any indication to wanting her around. Her eyes broke away from him, scanning across everybody surrounding her. Finally, they landed on Leo, and he could feel himself sigh with relief as she graced him with a look. He smiled, soft and clear as he looked back at her. He was her reality, her two feet on the ground while her head floated up to the clouds. He would even hope that he was her strength, too, because he knew that she was his.

 

  This was the moment of truth. With a heavy still in the air, every breath halted and emotions running high, Corrin would make her choice.

 

  This time, Leo didn't dare take his eyes off her form. Slowly, he nodded at her, still smiling softly as he kept her gaze. It was an unspoken bond, no words needing to be said as the two looked at each other. They could share a conversation all on their own. Corrin nodded back, hesitant but willing to do this. Leo's veins filled with relief as she began to make her way across the blood stained grass to meet him.

 

  "No!" The pegasi rider cried, looking as if she was just stabbed by Corrin's choice personified. She gripped her naginata, "I won't let you take her again!"

 

  "She's made her choice," Xander spat out, "We didn't take her, nor are we forcing anything."

 

  Corrin's voice was shaky as she attempted to break the tension, "I'm sorry Ryoma, but this is my family… I'm Corrin, not Kamui."

 

  Yes, that's exactly it. She was Corrin, Leo's best friend, the girl that now wrapped her slim arms around him and buried her face into his shoulder. For once, he was the one that was picked for this, he was the one she went to, he was the one that was preferred. He took a deep breath as he wrapped his arms around her, wanting to keep her there forever. She spoke into his shoulder with a muffled voice, "Let's just go, let's retreat, I don't want to fight them."

 

   That was too late. War had begun.

 

  "We can't," He informed her, though his eyes went up to look at his siblings who were beginning to fight the others. Wyvern against Pegasus, paladin against samurai. He took a step back, offering his horse for her to climb on so she could retreat more quickly, save herself from having to fight her own blood, "If we leave now, it will look like we truly did steal you, instead of let you make your own choice. We have to stay and fight," he sighed in relief despite it all, "I think you truly do have the devil's own luck."

 

  Corrin looked concerned as she placed herself atop his horse, without him following suit. He merely took her hand, squeezing it lightly and letting it linger before he stalked off towards the archer to begin the fighting. As he opened his book, the archer notched his bow. He stretched out his hand to feel the tingle of magic in every tip of his finger, closing his eyes and let it spring forth like a wave of power coming out of him.

 

  Between the spidery, foreign words of a spell, Leo could only utter a prayer of thanks to the gods. Corrin was safe, she would be going home.

 

\-----------------------

 

  It seems Corrin shared Xander's habit of pacing.

 

  Leo watched her walk back and forth, from one wall of his tent to the other. She had her hands in front of her, tangled together like a net that she hoped to catch herself with. There was no muttering, merely a worried expression and the occasional grimace. He watched every step, every breath she took, just happy to have her here again. Alive and well.

 

  She had her own tent, one just as large as his, but she seemed to want to be alone with someone. He didn't quite understand why she didn't pick Camilla or Elise for this, as something was obviously on her mind and Leo wasn't exactly the best at reassurance. Yet, here she was. Maybe he was better than he thought. "Something the matter, sister?"

 

  She stopped, dainty shoulders slumped and lower lip jutting out in a pout, "Don't call me that."

 

  He furrowed his brows, "Sister?"

 

  "Yeah…" The pacing was over, now replaced by an uncomfortable expression as she rubbed her arms, eyes refusing to land on him, "That's rude, I'm sorry. Call me whatever you like. I'm just… I don't know."  
 

  She was just 'I don't know'. Well, that was an adjective if he ever heard one. Yet, he couldn't help but identify with her, he oftentimes was 'I don't know' as well. He knew the feeling. "Are you regretting your decision?" His own inquiry filled him with dread, enough to make his stomach churn. He could almost see her running away from camp and begging forgiveness from her other family, her blood family.

 

  Luckily, this wouldn't happen, "No, no never. You and the others are my real family," She sat down beside him on his bed, bare feet scraping the leafy ground that was his floor currently. She looked like she had another explanation, but it refused to escape from her mouth.

 

  "Sister," The word felt odd now, clumsy on his tongue, "You had all the right reasons to pick Hoshido, let's be realistic here. Why _did_ you come back to us?"

 

  Silence fell. Corrin looked down at her hands in her lap, her back an arch as she slumped over. He sat beside her, black armor still on and limbs sore from the fighting and riding all day. She seemed hesitant to answer, almost as if this was a secret that only she would know, one that's been weighing on her shoulders since forever. Finally, she took a deep breath, and began to speak.

 

  "I don't think I'm human…"

 

  He merely raised an eyebrow. She went on, "I _know_ I'm not human, Leo. I'm not…" Her long fingers reached up to lightly trace her pointed ear, as if reminding herself of all the reasons why she thought this.

 

  Leo could only wonder what would bring her to such a conclusion, always the knowledge and truth seeker, "Why is that?"

 

  It became evident that she wouldn't answer the question. She seemed uncomfortable to go on, now fiddling with her fingers to try and distract herself from the conversation at hand. He frowned, realizing he wouldn't get an answer just yet. And he wouldn't allow himself to pry into her business unwarranted, if she wanted to keep secrets then that was her decision. Through all this, she went on to explain her original point, "There's something very wrong in Nohr…"

 

  He had known that for years, everybody has. Yet, nobody would ever say it outloud. Corrin's admittance of it was another heavy burden taken off his shoulders. "Yet, you picked us?"

 

  "I want to fix it," She finally looked at him, red eyes meeting brown, "He killed my mother. He tried to kill _me_. I don't think Hoshido overtaking Nohr would be enough, I need to be _with_ Nohr to take him down from the inside."

 

  He was shocked at the part about trying to kill her, not really believing that father would do such a thing. There was no way, really, he wasn't cruel enough to send his own children to their deaths. Unless things had gotten worse. Leo could only wonder if they were this bad from the start, and he just never realized it. "You're… betraying us, essentially?"

 

  She put her hands up wildly, "No! Not you! Not Xander, not Elise or Camilla! Just… Father. I'm betraying father."

 

  Silence fell again, but this time it was more thoughtful than anything. Leo merely sat back on his bed and blinked as he stared at the wall of the tent, attempting to register this all. She wanted to betray father, get her own revenge? He didn't quite know how to feel about it, Garon wasn't the man he knew as a child, but he was still his father. Yet… Corrin had lost so much. Locked up for years, meeting her mother only to have her die a day later. It was enough to drive one to revenge, he supposed. He glanced at her once more, "Just don't… tell Xander about this."

 

  "I would never!" She reassured, now smiling and scooting closer to him, "And I have one more thing we need to discuss…"  
 

  "What is that?"  
 

  Her hand reached up, stroking under his eye softly, right on his dark half moon, and making him tense up. His stomach bubbled up with a shot of anxiety as her eyes looked up him, red like the Hoshidan evening sun, "You haven't been sleeping, I can tell. You need my help."  
 

  His mind seemed fuzzy, yet he could manage a small retort, "Why thank you, Doctor Corrin. Your diagnosis means everything to me."

 

  "Let me sleep here tonight."

 

  "W-What? No."

 

  "Please."

 

  "I don't think it's a good idea…"  
 

  "Please?"

 

  Her pleas weren't exactly a question, as she was already taking the initiative to lay her head on his chest and close her eyes. He felt uncomfortable in his armor still, and she still wearing hers as well, but Xander always did recommend finding a way to be comfortable enough to sleep in it just in case of an attack, and with their camp being on the border of Hoshido itself, there was a very likely chance of an attack. The bonus addition of it all was that Corrin wouldn't be able to hear his heart speed up, now seeming to do jumping jacks in his chest as she sighed deeply and made herself comfortable there. Maybe he needed this, maybe _she_ needed it too.

 

  That night, with Corrin's head on his chest, her white hair wildly splaying out around him and his hand gently resting on her back, sleep was the easiest thing to come by.


End file.
